News for Importers and Exporters
27.04.2010Company: Deloitte
Amendments to Additional Duties, Applicable to Imports from the USA
ČESKY: Novinky pro dovozce a vývozce
In reaction on the United States’ failure to bring its legislation (the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (“Byrd Amendment”) into compliance with its commitments under WTO agreements, the EU imposed additional customs duties on imports of certain products originating in the US. This retaliatory measure is reviewed on a yearly basis by 1 May.
Additional Duties to Continue
In January 2003 the WTO Dispute Settlement Body came to the conclusion that the Byrd Amendment does not comply with the US’s commitments resulting from WTO agreements. Due to the fact that the US did not bring its legislation into accordance with international agreements, the EU was entitled to impose an additional 15% customs duty, collected in addition to regular duties, on selected products originating in the US. These additional duties have been applied since May 2005.
The scope of products subject to the additional duty is reviewed and amended once a year in order to maintain appropriate compensation of the negative impacts of US trade measures. The recently published Commission regulation No. 305/2010 introduces an updated list of products that will be subject to the additional duty as of 1 May 2010.
Trend – Increasing Number of Products
Compared to the previous periods, the list of products to which the 15% additional duty applies more than doubled. The following table shows the customs tariff codes of products that will be subject to additional duty upon import to the EU if originating from the US:
|
0710 40 00
4820 10 50
6101 30 10*
6101 30 90*
6102 30 10*
6102 30 90*
6103 43 00
6104 43 00*
6104 63 00
6201 12 10*
6201 12 90*
|
6201 13 10*
6201 13 90*
6201 92 00*
6201 93 00*
6202 11 00*
6202 93 00*
6203 42 31*
6203 43 11
6203 43 19
6203 43 90
6204 42 00*
|
6204 43 00*
6204 44 00*
6204 49 10*
6204 63 11
6204 63 18
6204 63 90
6204 69 18
6204 69 90
8705 10 00
9003 19 30
9406 00 38*
|
* newly added items
|
It is clear from the list that the additional duty impacts imports of a wide range of products, mainly men’s and women’s clothing, but also other products, such as sweet corn, dairy products, frames for spectacles, crane lorries, prefabricated buildings etc.
What does this mean for you?
- If you import goods from the US, check whether your imported items will be subject to the 15% additional customs duty applicable from 1 May 2010.
- If you import some of the newly added items (*) the additional duty may not apply if you prove that they are already en route to the EU on 1 May 2010 and their destination cannot be changed.
