Harmonized System Classifications: Learning By Doing: A Two-Part Webinar Series

Practice Makes Perfect:

A Two-Part Webinar that Combines Hands-On Exercises, Discussions, and Instruction.

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (“Harmonized System”) is used by more than 150 countries, including the United States, for the classification of products that are traded around the world. For importers, understanding how to classify goods under the Harmonized System is critical for determining the duty rates that apply to imported goods, free trade agreement and special trade program eligibility, applicability of antidumping or countervailing duties, and satisfying the “reasonable care” standard mandated by the Customs Modernization Act (“Mod Act”). Importers who fail to exercise reasonable care may owe additional duties to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and be subjected to penalties and additional government scrutiny. For exporters, understanding the Harmonized System is equally important as its principles drive the classification of exported goods under the Schedule B Code. In most situations either the HS tariff classification or the Schedule B Code may be reported in the Electronic Export Information (EEI) filings for purposes of export clearance; therefore, understanding how to accurately classify goods for export from the United States is vital for compliance with the Foreign Trade Regulations.

In this series of two webinars we will give attendees situational and transactional exercises to work on prior to both webinars. During the webinars we will use a combination of instruction and discussion of the exercises for a “practice makes perfect” approach to learning how to apply the rules of classification to a variety of products in different factual scenarios.

In addition to the exercises, the instruction will cover these points:

• Overview of the Harmonized System and the Standard of “Reasonable Care”

• The Differences Between the Schedule B Code and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)

• Useful Tools and Resources for Classification

• General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and the Key Principles of Eo Nomine, Essential Character, Relative Specificity

• Retail Sets, Kits, Cases and Containers

• Actual Use and Principal Use Provisions

• Importance of Section and Chapter Notes

• The Carborundum Factors

• Classifying Parts and Accessories

• Chapter 98 Duty-Savings Provisions

• Ruling Requests

• How Does Classification Relate to Antidumping and Countervailing Duties?

• Best Practices for Classification in Import and Export Compliance Programs

This combination of hands-on exercises, expert instruction, and participation in real-time question and answer sessions will be a unique opportunity to enhance your understanding of EAR license exceptions. 

These webinars will provide PowerPoint slides and notes and include video and commentary from Melissa Proctor, who has spent more than 20 years making the complex import and export rules understandable and workable for companies of all sizes. She has assisted Fortune 500 companies, small and medium-sized companies, and startups in designing tailored strategies and effective solutions for complicated international trade issues. Melissa’s experience includes serving as lead attorney on international trade matters for Polsinelli in Phoenix, working for international trade boutique law firms in Chicago and Miami, working for a Big 4 Accounting Firm in the field of international trade, and serving as in-house counsel for Amazon. Melissa holds an LL.M (International and Comparative Law) from Georgetown, a J.D. from Valparaiso University, and Bachelor of Arts Degrees from Indiana University in Spanish and Russian.

Webinar participants are invited to submit questions during the webinar; the final 30 minutes of each webinar will be allotted to answering attendees' questions.

Prerequisite: Participants should understand fundamental customs compliance requirements and have at least basic familiarity with tariff classification.

Webinar Details:

Two Webinar Series: Unlike most ECTI webinars, this training consists of two webinars so as to maximize the benefits of using hands-on exercises and discussions.

• Part 1 of Webinar Series: Oct 10, 2017 1:00 PM EDT
• Part 2 of Webinar Series: Oct 24, 2017 1:00 PM EDT
• Length: 1 hour 30 minutes comprised of 1 hour of commentary and 30 minute Q & A session

Can’t make one or both of the webinars in the series?

Don’t worry; you will receive access to both webinar series recordings and copies of both presentations.