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e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk
Ref : EIC 111/2/11
3 November 2008
Dear Sirs,
Commercial Information Circular No. 545/2008
Certificate of Origin Circular No. 12/2008
Notice to Exporters : Series 1 (USA) No. 8/2008
US : Technical Corrections Relating to the Rules of Origin for Goods Imported under
the North American Free Trade Agreement and for Textile and Apparel Products
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published in the Federal Register (FR) notice of 30 October 2008 a final rule to set forth technical corrections to the rules of origin codified in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 102 (19 CFR Part 102). The final rule is effective on 30 October 2008 and a copy of the FR notice is at Annex A (pdf format) to this circular for reference.
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The affected provisions in 19 CFR Part 102, which are based in part on specified changes in tariff classification, comprise a codified system used for determining the country of origin of goods imported under the North American Free Trade Agreement and for the country of origin of textile and apparel products (other than those of Israel). As a result of the 2007 modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), certain tariff provisions have been added or removed, and certain goods have been transferred, for tariff classification purposes, to different or newly-created tariff provisions. Accordingly, CBP makes technical corrections to the relevant sections in 19 CFR Part 102 in order for the regulations to conform the tariff shift rules to the current version of the HTSUS. Details of the technical corrections are set out in the FR notice.
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In this connection, traders are reminded that CBP issued a proposal on 25 July 2008 to seek public comments on extending the application of the country of origin rules in 19 CFR Part 102 to all imported merchandise. Details are contained in Commercial Information Circular (CIC) No. 403/2008 cum Certificate of Origin Circular (COC) No. 9/2008, and CIC No. 404/2008 cum COC No. 10/2008 cum Notice to Exporters: Series 1 (USA) No. 7/2008. CBP has now issued a separate FR notice on 30 October 2008 to re-open the comment period on the proposed rule to afford interested parties an opportunity to consider the impact, if any, on the country of origin of their goods. Comments are now due on or before 1 December 2008. A copy of the FR notice is at Annex B (pdf format) to this circular for reference.
ENQUIRIES
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For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact Miss S Y TANG at telephone number 2398 5405.
Yours faithfully,
(Miss Bonny CHAO)
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. |