Washington, D.C. – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today announced the first-come, first-served in-quota allocations under the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on imported refined and specialty sugar and sugar-containing products for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 (October 1, 2018 through September 30, 2019). TRQs allow countries to export specified quantities of a product to the United States at a relatively low tariff, but subject all imports of the product above a pre-determined threshold to a higher tariff.
On June 29, 2018, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the establishment of the in-quota quantity for the FY 2019 refined sugar TRQ at 192,000 Metric Tons Raw Value (MTRV), for which the sucrose content, by weight in the dry state, must have a polarimeter reading of 99.5 degrees or more. This amount includes the minimum quantity to which the United States is committed under the WTO Agreement—22,000 MTRV, of which 1,656 MTRV is reserved for specialty sugar—and an additional 170,000 MTRV for specialty sugars. USTR is allocating 10,300 MTRV of refined sugar to Canada, 2,954 to Mexico, and 7,090 MTRV of refined sugar to be administered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Imports of all specialty sugar will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis in five tranches. USDA has announced that the total in-quota quantity of specialty sugar will be the 1,656 MTRV included in the WTO minimum, plus an additional 170,000 MTRV. The first tranche of 1,656 MTRV will open on October 1, 2018. All types of specialty sugars are eligible for entry under this tranche. The second tranche of 50,000 MTRV will open on October 10, 2018. The third tranche of 50,000 MTRV will open on January 23, 2019. The fourth and fifth tranches, both of 35,000 MTRV, will open on April 17, 2019 and July 17, 2019, respectively. The second, third, fourth and fifth tranches will be reserved for organic sugar and other specialty sugars not currently produced commercially in the United States or reasonably available from domestic sources.
With respect to the in-quota quantity of 64,709 MTRV of the TRQ for imports of certain sugar-containing products maintained under Additional U.S. Note 8 to Chapter 17 of the HTS, USTR is allocating 59,250 MT to Canada. The remainder of the in-quota quantity, 5,459 MTRV, is available for other countries on a first-come, first-served basis.
Refined and specialty sugar and sugar-containing products for FY 2019 TRQs may enter the United States as of October 1, 2018.
*Conversion factor: 1 metric ton = 1.10231125 short tons.
To view a Federal Register notice on the allocation, click here.
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