Have you ever searched for data on a specific commodity and couldn’t find any?

A goal of the HTS and Schedule B is to provide quantity and value data for businesses, policy makers, and researchers. Good data helps both the public and private sectors make informed decisions. There are times when a new data category (10-digit number) is needed in order to obtain more detailed statistics.

For example, interest in organic foods resulted in a change to the classification schedules to identify how much of the fresh apples exported from the U.S. were certified organic. After the “break-out” (creation of a new classification number), one could see how the percentage of certified organic apples grew from 5% in 2011 to 13% in 2013. This information could make a big impact on business decisions!

Petitioning the 484(f) Committee to Create New Classification Number
If you feel the schedules are not meeting your data needs, you may suggest changes by submitting a petition to the Chairman of the 484(f) Committee to the following:

Chairman
The Committee for Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules
United States International Trade Commission (USITC)
Washington, D.C. 20436
Or electronic mail to 484f@usitc.gov

What do I include in my petition?
……1.   Indicate if the change relates to only HTS or Schedule B, or both.
……2.   Indicate the precise nature of each desired change.
……3.   Provide exact proposed language to be inserted or deleted.

Requests for changes should be submitted no later than:
       •  March 15 – Spring meeting
       •  July 15 – Fall meeting 

For more information about the 484(f) Committee and the petition process, please see the “Preface” section of the ITC’s website.

Please note: The 484(f) committee can not change any duty rate or tariff lines.  The purpose of the 484(f) committee is to assess category change only for statistical purposes.