Sugar Re-export Programs Under Review
The Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service is accepting comments through Nov. 7 on its administration of the re-export programs for refined sugar, sugar-containing products, and polyhydric alcohol.
Under the refined sugar re-export program FAS issues licenses to sugar refiners to import low-duty raw sugar unrestricted by the raw sugar tariff-rate quota provided for in Additional U.S. Note 5(a)(i) in chapter 17 of the HTSUS and exempt from the requirement that imports be accompanied by a certificate for quota eligibility issued to the foreign exporter. An equivalent quantity of domestically produced refined sugar must be either exported by the licensee or provided by the licensee to licensed U.S. manufacturers for use in exported SCP or licensed producers for use in polyhydric alcohol for non-food purposes.
Under the SCP re-export program FAS issues licenses to U.S. manufacturers of SCP to purchase refined sugar from refiners with refined sugar reexport licenses for use in SCP to be exported to the world market.
Under the polyhydric alcohol program FAS issues licenses to U.S. producers of polyhydric alcohols to purchase refined sugar from refiners with refined sugar re-export licenses for use in the production of polyhydric alcohols, except polyhydric alcohols used as a substitute for sugar in human food consumption.
FAS is soliciting comments on the public’s views of the current administration of these programs. Specific issues on which comments are requested include the extent to which licensed refiners and manufacturers use third-party exporters, the process of toll refining (where SCP manufacturers or polyhydric alcohol producers may maintain legal title of the imported sugar from importation to final license transfer), and the definitions of “refiner,” “sugar refining,” and “refined sugar.”
Sugar TRQ Entry Extended
The USDA has announced that all sugar entering the U.S. under the fiscal year 2022 raw cane sugar tariff-rate quota will be permitted to enter U.S. customs territory through Dec. 31, two months later than previously announced. This action follows a determination that additional supplies of raw cane sugar are required in the U.S. market. USDA states that it will closely monitor stocks, consumption, imports, and all sugar market and program variables on an ongoing basis.
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