PNCT will be Closed on Monday, 10/12
for the Columbus Day Holiday
All Maher Terminals Facilities including the Empty Depot
located at Columbia will be Closed for business on Monday, Columbus Day 10/12
USTR Announces Outcome of GSP Limited Product Review
U.S. Federal Trade Representative
Cotton Products Added; Products from Ukraine Redesignated; Three Countries Graduated Based on Income
Washington, D.C. – The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced today the outcome of the Obama Administration’s Limited Product Review under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. GSP is a 39-year-old trade preference program under which the United States provides duty-free treatment to many imports from developing countries.
“With the recent bipartisan renewal of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, thousands of products from over 120 developing countries are once again eligible for duty-free entry into the United States, supporting those countries’ economic development and helping to keep U.S. manufacturers competitive,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. “The annual GSP product review helps to ensure that the program is meeting statutory requirements and keeping up with evolving trade patterns, including those related to the competitiveness of beneficiary countries in different product areas.”
Based on the Administration’s review of various issues and petitions related to eligibility of products under the GSP program, President Obama made several determinations today affecting product coverage under GSP, including the following:
- The addition of five upland cotton fiber products to eligibility for duty-free treatment under GSP when imported from least developed country (LDC) beneficiaries. This action fulfills the U.S. pledge in the World Trade Organization to make imports of all upland cotton products from LDCs duty-free and quota-free;
- The reinstatement (redesignation) to GSP eligibility of three products from Ukraine and one from Indonesia that had previously been excluded from the program based on competitive need limitations;
- The granting of competitive need limitation (CNL) waivers, ensuring continued GSP duty-free benefits, for 100 products from 13 countries, including both petitioned and de minimis waivers; and
- The revocation of CNL waivers for three products from certain countries that had exceed certain statutory limits related to competitiveness.
Changes to GSP tariff treatment for these products will become effective on October 1, 2015.
- The President also found that, consistent with statutory provisions concerning country eligibility, three GSP beneficiary countries – Seychelles, Uruguay, and Venezuela – have recently surpassed the GSP income threshold and, therefore, will be graduated from eligibility for GSP trade benefits, effective January 1, 2017. Since GSP eligibility is a precondition for benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Seychelles – which is currently a beneficiary of AGOA – will also graduate from benefits for that program effective January 1, 2017.
The full results of the GSP Limited Product Review are available here and will also be announced in the Federal Register.
Background
Under the GSP program, up to 5,000 types of products from 122 beneficiary developing countries and territories, including 43 least-developed countries, are eligible for duty-free treatment when exported to the United States. In 2014, the total value of imports that entered the United States duty-free under GSP was $18.3 billion.
As part of the GSP Limited Product Review, an interagency committee led by USTR (the GSP Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee) received and considered requests seeking: 1) to waive product exclusions for certain countries based on statutory requirements related to competitiveness (CNLs), and 2) to redesignate for GSP eligibility products previously excluded for certain countries based on CNLs. The GSP Subcommittee also considered whether to recommend the revocation of CNL waivers for products from certain countries where 2014 U.S. imports had exceeded statutory “super CNL” thresholds. Finally, the Subcommittee also considered the addition to GSP for LDCs only of five upland cotton products previously ineligible for GSP. The Trade Preferences Act of 2015 gave the President the authority to designate these cotton products for duty-free treatment under GSP when imported from LDCs.
The GSP Subcommittee solicited public comments on CNL-related issues and also held a hearing on August 11 to hear testimony on the CNL waiver petitions and the proposed addition of the cotton products. In addition, the Subcommittee reviewed analyses prepared by the U.S. International Trade Commission of the economic impact on U.S. industries and consumers of the petitioned CNL waiver requests and product additions.
For more information on the GSP program, visit the GSP page on the USTR website here.
USITC Begins Process to Change U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule Import Categories for Certain Fish, Wood and Wood Products, and Bed Nets of Warp Knit Fabric
U.S. International Trade Commission
International customs officials at the World Customs Organization (WCO) have agreed to category changes within the global Harmonized System, which categorizes products that are imported and exported around the world, for certain fish, wood and wood products, and bed nets of warp knit fabrics. Countries are now beginning their individual processes to incorporate those changes into their own domestic product category systems.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) maintains and updates the United States' product category system, the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The USITC today instituted an investigation that will lead to recommendations to the President on necessary modifications to the U.S. HTS for these products.
The U.S. and other countries have until January 1, 2018, to incorporate the changes. The USITC has posted the WCO document outlining the changes on its website here. As a first step, importers and exporters can view the document to determine whether they are affected.
The USITC expects to issue proposed recommendations on HTS category changes for the products in February 2016. At that time, the USITC will seek public comments on the proposed recommendations. Detailed information on how to submit comments and related deadlines will be provided at that time.
The USITC will consider all public comments, as well as comments from other U.S. agencies, in making its final recommendations. The recommendations will be submitted to the President (through the U.S. Trade Representative) by July 2016. Following expiration of a 60 day layover period before the Congress, the President may proclaim the modifications to the HTS.
More information about the USITC investigation can be found in the notice of investigation dated October 2, 2015.
CBP at JFK Seizes Counterfeit Inspection Stickers
U.S. Customs Border & Protection
New York State Vehicle Safety/Emissions Inspection Stickers
JAMAICA, N.Y. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport seized 935 fake New York State Vehicle Safety/Emissions Inspection stickers.
On October 6, Mr. Luis Jose Cabral, a Dominican Republic citizen, arrived on a flight from Santiago, Dominican Republic and presented himself for examination by CBP officers. During a luggage examination, CBP officers discovered stacks of New York State Vehicle Safety/Emissions Inspection stickers inside sneakers and a photo album.
In total, 935 counterfeit New York State Vehicle Safety/Emissions Inspection stickers were seized and Mr. Cabral was placed under arrest. The counterfeit emission safety stickers and all evidence have been turned over to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the New York Police Department for prosecution by the Queens County District Attorney’s office.
“CBP has a diverse mission, and this seizure of counterfeit New York State Vehicle Safety/Emissions Inspection stickers illustrates the vigilance of our CBP officers,” said Robert E. Perez, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations.
All defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Federal Safety Officials and Industry Leaders Urge Parents to Inspect For Hidden Window Cord Hazards
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
WASHINGTON, D.C. - (October 5, 2015) – The Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are urging parents and caregivers during October to check their window coverings for exposed or dangling cords, which pose a strangulation hazard to infants and young children, and to replace them as soon as possible with safer blinds and shades. WCSC and CPSC strongly recommend that only cordless window coverings, or those with inaccessible cords, be used in homes with young children.
To heighten public awareness of window cord dangers, the Council and CPSC have again declared October “National Window Covering Safety Month.”
“Every year, cords from window blinds kill children,” said CPSC Chairman Elliot F. Kaye. “Corded window coverings are one of the top five hidden hazards in American homes—and they are a preventable hazard. The Commission will continue to work with manufacturers and retailers on bolder, more forward-looking actions that they can take to prevent child strangulations from accessible cords on window coverings. The Commission urges families to go out and buy cordless products, or window coverings with inaccessible cords, which can be found in stores nationwide.”
“Parents with young children should replace their corded window coverings with the cordless products available,” explained Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) Executive Director, Peter Rush. “There are many cordless products available in different styles, colors, and sizes that will soon be easily identified with the Best for Kids label.”
The industry recently launched the Best for Kids certification program to help consumers and retailers easily identify window covering products that are suitable for use in homes with infants and young children. For a product to be eligible for this certification program, manufacturers must meet specified program criteria and submit their window covering products to a designated third party testing laboratory. Once a product passes the third party testing, the manufacturer will be allowed to label the product with the Best for Kids certification seal.
The multiple cordless products available include (partial list): cordless drapes, sheers, light-filtering cordless shades, cordless blackout shades, cordless roman shades, cordless mini-blinds, faux wood blinds, shutters, cordless pleated shades, and cordless motorized shades to name a few. All of these come in a variety of sizes, patterns, and fabrics from which to choose.
WCSC and CPSC also encourage parents and caregivers to follow these basic window safety precautions:
- Install only cordless window coverings, or window coverings with inaccessible cords, in homes with young children.
- Move all furniture, cribs, beds and climbable surfaces away from windows.
- Mount window guards or window stops to prevent children from potentially falling from a window. Ensure that windows cannot open more than 4 inches if young children are in the home.
For more information on window cord safety, visit CPSC’s Window Covering Safety Information Center, or windowcoverings.org, and follow WCSC on Facebook and Twitter.
Press Releases: International Trade Administration
ITA
10/07/2015 Fact Sheet: Preliminary Determinations in the Antidumping Duty Investigations of Imports of Certain Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin from Canada, China, India, and Oman
10/06/2015 Statement From U.S. Under Secretary Of Commerce For International Trade Stefan M. Selig On International Trade In Goods And Services In August 2015 [Fact Sheet]
10/05/2015
Fact Sheet: Commerce Finds Dumping of Imports of Welded Line Pipe from the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Turkey and Countervailable Subsidization of Imports of Welded Line Pipe from the Republic of Turkey