The White House has today finally issued a Proclamation that will result in the U.S. implementation of the five-year revisions to the World Customs Organization (WCO) international Harmonized System (HS) tariff nomenclature.  These changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) had been expected to be implemented on January 1, 2022, but they will not take effect until thirty (30) days after the Proclamation is published in the Federal Register.  Given the timing of the Proclamation and the holidays, this means these 2022 HTSUS revisions will not be implemented until late January 2022.

The Proclamation references Annexes of U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) Publication 5240 which, although dated November 2021, is not yet available.  These HTSUS revisions are anticipated to be largely in line with the recommended HTSUS modification covered by USITC Pub. 5171 issued April 2021.  The Proclamation specifically indicates that these HTSUS revisions will “maintain the duty treatment” for China Section 301 tariff provisions subject to modification.  The Proclamation also makes other changes to the HTSUS such as Peru, Korea, Colombia, Panama, and USMCA FTA staged duty reductions.

In a December 17 CSMS administrative message, U.S. Customs already anticipated the delay and indicates it will continue to use the current HTSUS on January 1, 2022 and encourages the trade community do the same until there is further guidance.  Please contact Brian Murphy, Sean Murray, or Marshall Miller with questions.