Publication Number: 3883

Report Title: Advice Concerning the Addition of Certain Pharmaceutical Products and Chemical Intermediates to the Pharmaceutical Appendix to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

Investigation Number: 332-476

Author's name(s): Philip Stone, Elizabeth R. Nesbitt

Date Published: September 2006

Report Description/Introductory Text: Under the Pharmaceutical Zero-for-Zero Initiative, which entered into force in 1995, the United States and its major trading partners eliminated tariffs on many pharmaceuticals, their derivatives, and certain chemical intermediates used to make pharmaceuticals. The U.S. list of pharmaceutical products and chemical intermediates eligible for duty-free treatment under the agreement is given in the Pharmaceutical Appendix to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. The Pharmaceutical Appendix is periodically updated to provide duty relief for additional such products, including newly developed pharmaceuticals. This report provides advice on the third update to the agreement, in which approximately 1,300 products are proposed to receive duty-free treatment. In 2005, U.S. imports of products currently included in the pharmaceutical agreement totaled over $58 billion; U.S. exports of such products exceeded $25 billion. U.S. imports of items proposed for addition to the agreement are estimated to be valued at $619 million in 2007 versus about $6 million for exports. However, these values for the products likely underestimate eventual trade because estimates were not available for many of the products.

Topics Covered: Pharmaceutical Zero-for-Zero Initiative, Pharmaceutical Appendix, Harmonized Tariff Schedule, Pharmaceutical Tariff Agreement, pharmaceuticals, chemical intermediates, tariffs, tariff elimination, imports, exports, trade

Countries: , Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Canada, Czech Republic, Japan, Norway, Slovakia, Switzerland

HTS Numbers: 30, 2936, 2937, 2939, 2941

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