Tariff WatchA trade agreement or preference program can reduce the ordinary rate to a lower figure or to free. The reduction has to be claimed on the entry, and it reaches the Column 1 rate and nothing else.
How a claim works
Qualify under the rules of origin, then claim.
Column 1 Special lists the programs available for each classification by letter code, such as S for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or CL for Chile. Eligibility turns on the agreement’s rules of origin, which are set out in the general notes to the schedule and are not the same as the substantial transformation test used for marking.
The claim is made by the importer on the entry and must be supported. Qualifying under an agreement is a determination about the goods; claiming is an act on the entry, and a rate is only reduced where both have happened.
What a claim does not reach
The remedies are assessed on origin and content.
A preference claim replaces the Column 1 rate. It does not of itself remove a Section 232 duty, a Section 301 duty, or an antidumping or countervailing duty, each of which is imposed under separate authority and assessed on origin and content rather than on preference eligibility.
Where a particular action does except goods qualifying under an agreement, it says so by its own terms. Under Executive Order 14289, automobile parts qualifying for preferential treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement step past the Section 232 automobile action, and the metals duties may then apply on their own terms.
Related
Elsewhere on this site.