The Customs Service collects import duties and enforces more than 400 laws or regulations relating to international trade. Among the many responsibilities falling to Customs are assessing and collecting duties, excise taxes, penalties and other fees due on imported goods; interdicting and seizing illegally entered merchandise; processing persons, carriers, cargo and mail into and out of the United States; helping enforce U.S. laws against the transfer of certain technologies to Eastern European countries, laws on copyright, patent and trademark rights; and administering quotas and other import restrictions. The U.S. Customs Service maintains close ties with private business associations, international organizations, and foreign customs services. The Commissioner of Customs is appointed by the President and subject to confirmation by the Senate. U.S. International Trade Commission The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is an independent and quasi-judicial agency that conducts studies, reports, and investigations, and makes recommendations to the President and the Congress on a wide range of international trade issues. The agency was established on September 8, 1916 26 as the U.S. Tariff Commission. In 1974 the name was changed to the United States International Trade Commission by section 171 of the Trade Act of 1974.27 Commissioners are appointed by the President for nine-year terms, unless they are appointed to fill an unexpired term. Any commissioner who has served for more than 5 years may not be reappointed. The Chairman and Vice Chairman are designated by the President for two-year terms, and successive Chairmen may not be of the same political party. Of the six commissioners, not more than three may be of the same political party. The Commission has numerous responsibilities for advice, investigations, studies, and data collection and analysis which may be grouped into the following general areas: advice on trade negotiations; Generalized System of Preferences; import relief for domestic industries; East-West trade; investigations of injury caused by subsidized or dumped goods; import interference with agricultural programs; unfair practices in import trade; development of uniform statistical data; matters related to the U.S. tariff schedules; international trade studies; trade and tariff summaries. Statutory authority for the Commission's responsibilities is provided primarily by the Tariff Act of 1930, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade Act of 1974, the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984, and the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The Tariff Act of 1930 gives the Commission broad authority to conduct studies and investigations relating to the impact of international trade on U.S. industries. Various sections under title VII of the Tariff Act authorize the Commission to determine whether U.S. industries are materially injured by imports which benefit from subsidies or are priced below fair value.28 If the Secretary of 26 39 Stat. 795. 27 19 U.S.C. 2231. 28 Sections 704, 734, and 751; 19 U.S.C. 1671c, 1673c, and 1675c. 1 Commerce decides to suspend an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation upon reaching an agreement to eliminate the injury caused by the subsidized or dumped imports, the Commission is authorized to study whether or not the injury in fact is being eliminated. Section 337 of the Tariff Act authorizes the ITC to investigate whether unfair methods of competition or unfair acts are being committed in the importation of goods into the United States.29 The Commission is authorized to order actions to remedy any such violations, subject to Presidential disapproval. Upon the request of the President, the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Senate Committee on Finance, or on its own motion, the ITC conducts studies and investigations under section 332 of the Tariff Act of 1930 on a wide range of trade-related issues.30 Public reports generally are issued following such studies and investigations. The ITC also publishes summaries outlining the types of products entering the United States, their importance in U.S. consumption, production, and trade, and other relevant information. The ITC also is required to establish and maintain statistics on U.S. trade and to review the international commodity code for classifying products and reporting trade statistics among countries. 31 The Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974 expanded the duties of the ITC. Both laws require the Commission to review developments within an industry receiving import protection and to advise the President on the probable impact of reducing or eliminating the protection.32 The Trade Act of 1974 gives the Commission a Presidential advisory role on the probable domestic economic effects of trade concessions proposed during trade negotiations.33 The ITC performs a similar advisory role in relation to duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences. 34 Under section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act,35 the Commission conducts investigations to determine whether increased imports are causing or threatening serious injury to the competing domestic industry and reports its findings and recommendations for relief to the President. Sections 406 and 410 36 of the 1974 Trade Act provide for ITC monitoring and investigation of various aspects of trade with nonmarket economics. The Agricultural Adjustment Act 37 requires the ITC, upon the direction of the President, to investigate whether imports of agricultural products are interfering with programs of the Department of Agriculture and to present its findings and recommendations to the President. Section 221 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984, amended by section 1614 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, established a separate Trade Remedy Assistance Office within the ITC to provide information to the public on remedies and benefits available under U.S. trade laws and on the procedures and filing dates for relief petitions. Private or Public Sector Advisory Committees The first formal mechanism providing for ongoing advice from the private sector on international trade matters was authorized by section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974.38 In view of the positive contribution of the advisory committees to the Tokyo Round of multilateral trade negotiations and to passage of the implementing legislation-the Trade Agreements Act of 1979-Congress provided for continuation of the advisory committee structure in section 1631 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Congress also expanded the committees' responsibilities by authorizing them to provide advice on the priorities and direction of U.S. trade policy, in addition to their previous responsibilities. The U.S. Trade Representative manages the advisory committees in cooperation with the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, and other departments. The committee structure is threetiered, with the most senior level represented by the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations (ACTPN). The ACTPN is a 45-member body composed of Presidential-appointed representatives of government, labor, industry, agriculture, small business, service industries, retailers, consumer interests, and the general public. The group provides overall guidance on trade policy matters, including trade agreements and negotiations, and is chaired by a chairman elected by the committee. The group convenes at the call of the U.S. Trade Representative. The second tier is made up of policy advisory committees representing overall sectors of the economy (e.g., industry, agriculture, labor, services) whose role is to advise the government of the impact of various trade measures on their respective sectors. The third tier is composed of sector advisory committees consisting of experts from various fields. Their role is to provide specific, technical information and advice on trade issues involving their particular sector. Members of the second and third tier are appointed by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of the relevant department or agency. 38 19 U.S.C. 2155. PART II: COMPILATION OF U.S. TRADE STATUTES Chapter 8: TARIFF AND CUSTOMS LAWS A. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HARMONIZED TARIFF Title I, Subtitle B (Sections 1201-1217) of the Omnibus Trade and [19 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.; P.L. 100-418, as amended by P.L. 100-647] SEC. 1201. PURPOSES. The purposes of this subtitle are (1) to approve the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System; (2) to implement in United States law the nomenclature established internationally by the Convention; and (3) to provide that the Convention shall be treated as a trade agreement obligation of the United States. SEC. 1202. DEFINITIONS. As used in this subtitle: (1) The term "Commission" means the United States International Trade Commission. (2) The term "Convention" means the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, done at Brussels on June 14, 1983, and the Protocol thereto, done at Brussels on June 24, 1986, submitted to the Congress on June 15, 1987. (3) The term "entered" means entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, in the customs territory of the United States. (4) The term "Federal agency" means any establishment in the executive branch of the United States Government. (5) The term "old Schedules" means title I of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1202) as in effect on the day before the effective date of the amendment to such title under section 1204(a). (6) The term "technical rectifications" means rectifications of an editorial character or minor technical or clerical changes which do not affect the substance or meaning of the text, such as (A) errors in spelling, numbering, or punctuation; (C) errors (including inadvertent omissions) in cross-ref- SEC. 1203. CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL OF UNITED STATES ACCESSION TO THE CONVENTION. (a) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.-The Congress approves the accession by the United States of America to the Convention. (b) ACCEPTANCE OF THE FINAL LEGAL TEXT OF THE CONVENTION BY THE PRESIDENT.-The President may accept for the United States the final legal instruments embodying the Convention. The President shall submit a copy of each final instrument to the Congress on the date it becomes available. (c) UNSPECIFIED PRIVATE REMEDIES NOT CREATED.-Neither the entry into force with respect to the United States of the Convention nor the enactment of this subtitle may be construed as creating any private right of action or remedy for which provision is not explicitly made under this subtitle or under other laws of the United States. (d) TERMINATION.-The provisions of section 125(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2135(a)) do not apply to the Convention. SEC. 1204. ENACTMENT OF THE HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE. (a) IN GENERAL.-The Tariff Act of 1930 is amended by striking out title I and inserting a new title I entitled "Title I-Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States" (hereinafter in this subtitle referred to as the "Harmonized Tariff Schedule") which (1) consists of (A) the General Notes; (B) the General Rules of Interpretation; (C) the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation; (D) sections I to XXII, inclusive (encompassing chapters 1 to 99, and including all section and chapter notes, article provisions, and tariff and other treatment accorded thereto); and (E) the Chemical Appendix to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule; all conforming to the nomenclature of the Convention and as set forth in Publication No. 2030 of the Commission entitled "Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated for Statistical Reporting Purposes" and Supplement No. 1 thereto; but (2) does not include the statistical annotations, notes, annexes, suffixes, check digits, units of quantity, and other matters formulated under section 484(e) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1484(e)), nor the table of contents, footnotes, index, and other matters inserted for ease of reference, that are included in such Publication No. 2030 or Supplement No. 1. thereto. (b) MODIFICATIONS TO THE HARMONIZED TARIFF SCHEDULE.-At the earliest practicable date after the date of the enactment of the Onmibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988; the President shall (1) proclaim such modifications to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule as are consistent with the standards applied in converting the old Schedules into the format of the Convention, as reflected in such Publication No. 2030 and Supplement No. 1. thereto, and as are necessary or appropriate to implement |