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 Are My Goods Subject to Quota?
(09/29/2006)Import quotas control the amount or volume of various commodities that can be imported into the United States during a specified period of time. Quotas are established by legislation and Presidential proclamations issued pursuant to specific legislation and provided for in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). There are three types of quotas: absolute, tariff-rate, and tariff preference level. Absolute quotas strictly limit the quantity of goods that may enter the commerce of the United States for a specific period. Tariff rate quotas permit a specified quantity of imported merchandise to be entered at a reduced rate of duty during the quota period. Once the tariff-rate quota limit is reached, goods may still be entered but at a higher rate of duty. Many free trade agreements and special trade legislation establish tariff preference levels (TPL), which CBP administers like tariff rate quotas.For more general information about quota, see the document titled “Import Quotas”. .Several key factors determine whether a shipment is subject to quota requirements:- Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification (based on merchandise description)
- Textile category number (also known as a “visa” category)
- HTS chapter note (for agricultural products)
- Country of origin (where the goods were grown, produced, or manufactured)
- Determine the HTS number (classification) of the goods by:
- Contacting an Import Specialist at a CBP port of entry. For a list of service port telephone numbers, see the Ports of Entry contact list.
- Requesting a binding ruling from the Office of Regulations and Rulings, National Commodity Specialist Division.
( Requirements for Electronic Ruling Requests )
- Querying the Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) for binding rulings previously issued for similar merchandise.
(
CROSS )
- Reviewing the Harmonized Tariff Schedule at
(
United States International Trade Commission )
- Determine the textile category number (if applicable). The category is a three-digit number listed in parentheses next to the HTS number. Refer to the Daily Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas, which lists categories subject to quota and fill status (percentage of the quota that is used) by country. Currently absolute quota and/or visa requirements exist for textiles from China, Vietnam, Russia and Ukraine.
( Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas )
If the country of origin and/or the textile category of the goods is not listed on this report, then the merchandise is not subject to absolute quota or visa requirements. For more information on textile categories see U.S Textile and Apparel Category System website.
(
OTEXA )
- Determine whether the merchandise qualifies for preferential treatment under a Free Trade Agreement
( International Free Trade Agreements )
or other special trade program.
( Special Trade Programs )
- If the merchandise qualifies for preferential treatment (see above), refer to the Commodity Status Report for Tariff Rate Quotas.
( Commodity Status Report for Tariff Rate Quotas )
. This weekly report provides information on imported merchandise subject to Tariff Rate Quotas. The four most recent reports are available on this web page. In addition to textiles, the Commodity Status Report also contains information about food/agricultural and non-textile products, whose quotas are specified in notes to HTS chapters.
- If the merchandise is subject to quota/visa restrictions, there may be additional information for a particular quota listed on the CBP website in the form of Quota Book Transmittals (QBTs)
( Quota Book Transmittals (QBTs) )
and Textile Book Transmittals (TBTs).
( Textile Book Transmittals (TBTs) )
These links also contain general information related to the processing of quota-class goods.
For more information on quotas see the textile and quotas section of the CBP website.
( Textiles and Quotas )
.Questions concerning this should be directed to the:
Office of International Trade
Trade Policy and Programs
( Quota Branch Point of Contact )
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