§10.310. Election to average for motor vehicles. — Inbound Citations

The provisions of §§ 10.302 through 10.311 of this part relate to the procedures for obtaining duty preferences on imported goods under the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement (the Agreement) entered into on January 2, 1988, and the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1988 (102 Stat. 1851). The United States and Canada agreed to suspend operation of the Agreement with effect from January 1, 1994, to coincide with the entry into force of the North American Free Trade Agreement (see part 181 of this chapter) and to continue suspending operation of the Agreement with the entry into force of the Agreement Between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) (see part 182 of this chapter) and, accordingly, the provisions of §§ 10.302 through 10.311 of this part apply only to goods imported from Canada that were entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, during the period January 1, 1989, through December 31, 1993. In situations involving goods subject to bilateral restrictions or prohibitions, or country of origin marking, other criteria for determining origin may be applicable pursuant to Article 407 of the Agreement.

(a) In determining whether a motor vehicle is originating for purposes of the preferences under the Agreement or a Canadian article under the Automotive Products Trade Act of 1965 (APTA), a manufacturer may elect to average, over its 12-month financial year, its calculation of the value-content requirement for vehicles of the same class or sister vehicles which are assembled in the same plant as provided for in the Agreement. A manufacturer must declare its election to average before the importation of any vehicles produced within the identified 12-month period. The election to average is subject to the conditions and requirements set forth in §§ 10.310 and 10.311.

(2) L. 100-449, 102 Stat. 1851) a manufacturer of motor vehicles may elect to average, over its 12-month financial year, its calculation of the value-content requirement for vehicles in establishing its eligibility for tariff preference. Requirements for averaging are set forth in §§ 10.310 and 10.311.

(c) In lieu of the certification in paragraph (b) (1), (2), or (3) of this section, a manufacturer of motor vehicles who claims a preference under the United States-Canada Free-Trade Agreement and elects to average pursuant to § 10.310(a), shall be subject to the requirements of §§ 10.301 to 10.311 of this part.