According to this CSMS message from U.S. Customs, there are a limited amount of tariff items in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) that do not have equivalent free trade agreement (FTA) tariff change rules (TCRs). The reason for this is that the tariff items were negotiated using a Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) that was later modified in 2007, 2012, or 2017.
Customs has provided guidance to work around this issue until corresponding tariff change rules have been implemented.
Tariff Shift Origination Analysis
- Classify the good and its materials using the most recent HTSUS in which the tariff item has a corresponding tariff change rule and perform the origination analysis using that year’s HTSUS.
Certificate of Origin
- Indicate both the current HTSUS number and the previously corresponding HTSUS number used to perform the origination analysis in parenthesis and with wording to that effect.
The example statement Customs provides is, “Origination analysis performed using HTSUS xxxx.xx.xxxx (2016) since no TRC for item number yyyy.yy.yyyy in 2017 HTSUS.”
If you need assistance in with reviewing your origination analysis or confirming compliance of your free trade agreement claims, contact Mohawk Global Trade Advisors.
FTA Origination Analysis and Certification Guide (U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
By Danielle Passage