US revises limit on import of Haitian apparel under CBERA

The International Trade Administration, under the US department of commerce, has revised the limitation of duty-free imports of apparel articles assembled in Haiti. It has announced the quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) for the one-year period till December 19, 2018.

CBERA, as amended by the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE), provides duty-free treatment for certain apparel articles imported directly from Haiti. One of the preferences, known as the ‘value-added’ provision, requires that apparel meet a minimum threshold percentage of value added in Haiti, the US, and/or certain beneficiary countries.

The provision is subject to a quantitative limitation, which is calculated as a percentage of total apparel imports into the United States for each 12-month annual period. “For the annual period from December 20, 2017 through December 19, 2018, the quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the value-added provision is 361,603,399 square metres equivalent,” an official statement said.

The aggregate square meters equivalent of all apparel articles imported into the US is derived from the set of Harmonized System lines listed in the Annex to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), and the conversion factors for units of measure into square metre equivalents used by the United States in implementing the ATC.

For the latest calculation, the most recent 12-month period for which data are available as of December 20, 2017 is the 12-month period ending on October 31, 2017.

Therefore, for the one-year period beginning on December 20, 2017 and extending through December 19, 2018, the quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under the value-added provision is 361,603,399 square meters equivalent. “Apparel articles entered in excess of these quantities will be subject to otherwise applicable tariffs,” the statement said.