Opinion ID: 677923
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Conversion to the Harmonized System.

Text: 5 On August 23, 1988, the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (Pub.L. 100-418) was enacted. The Act adopted the new tariff nomenclature--the HTSUS, which became effective on January 1, 1989. The new nomenclature system developed as follows. The Trade Act of 1974 mandated that the United States participate in the development of an international product nomenclature known as the Harmonized System. The Harmonized System is a detailed product classification system developed through the Customs Co-Operation Council (CCC). The System provides a common core language for trade; it does not, however, carry any obligations with respect to tariff rates. To facilitate the conversion from the then existing Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS) to the HTSUS, a draft conversion was prepared by the International Trade Commission (ITC). The conversion report cross-references items under the TSUS with the HTSUS and vice versa. USITC Pub. 2030 (1983). This draft conversion was reviewed by government agencies, the private sector, and the trading partners. Later that year, the conversion document was republished for private sector review. 6 There are no HTSUS headings that expressly include vehicles for transport of goods and persons as did 692.10 TSUS. The final cross-referencing report, however, paired 692.10 TSUS, motor vehicles for the transport of goods and persons, with 8703 HTSUS, motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons; and 692.02, automotive trucks, with 8704 HTSUS, motor vehicles for the transport of goods. See USITC Pub. 2051 (1988). Note, however, that the TSUS/HTSUS cross-references should not be viewed as a substitute for the traditional classification process. TSUS/HTSUS Cross Reference Clarification, 53 Fed.Reg. 27,447. Prior to January 1, 1989, the effective date of the HTSUS, the Pathfinder was classified under 692.10 TSUS (motor vehicles for the transport of goods and persons), 2.5% ad valorem. While not determinative, prior classification of Pathfinders is instructive. H.R.Con.Rep. No. 576, 100th Cong., 2nd Sess. 549-50 (1988), 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1547. Legislative history also shows that any changes in the rates of duty from the TSUS to the HTSUS are consequential to the process of converting to the new nomenclature. Id. at 1581. 7