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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 111/2/20

7 September 2011

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 538/2011

US : Final Rule on Adjustment to the Cotton Import Charge

The trade was informed via Commercial Information Circular No. 332/2011 of 10 June 2011 that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the US Department of Agriculture had issued and invited public comments to the proposal to adjust upwards an existing charge called "assessment" levied on US imports of cotton and the cotton content of imported products. The final rule, to be effective on 30 September 2011, was published in the Federal Register on 31 August 2011. It is available at
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-08-31/pdf/2011-22159.pdf.

DETAILS

2. Based on the analysis of the comments received, the AMS has determined to adopt the proposal as the final rule with the following changes:

  1. adjust the assessment from US$0.01088 per kilogram of imported cotton to US$0.012665 per kilogram;
  2. update textile trade conversion factors used to determine the raw fiber equivalents of imported cotton-containing products; and
  3. expand the number of Harmonized Tariff Schedule statistical reporting numbers from the current 706 to 2,371 to assess all imported cotton and cotton-containing products.

EXEMPTION

3. Besides, the following will not be subject to assessments:

  1. importers with line-items appearing on US Customs and Border Protection documentation with value of the cotton contained therein results of an assessment of US$2 or less; and
  2. the cotton content of imported cotton and products is US produced, cotton other than Upland, or imported products that are eligible to be labelled as 100% organic under the US National Organic Program and who is not a split operation.

ENQUIRIES

4. For enquiries about the content of this circular, please contact Miss S Y TANG at telephone number 2398 5405.

Yours faithfully,

(Ms Cindy CHENG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry



Note ：

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.