Commerce, Interior propose changes to insular watch duty treatment

Commerce, Interior propose changes to insular watch duty treatment The U.S. Commerce and Interior departments have proposed to amend their regulations governing watch duty-exemption allocations and the watch and jewelry duty-refund benefits for manufacturers in the U.S. insular possessions.
   These insular possessions include the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.
   Among the handful of minor changes to the existing rules, the departments namely want to raise the maximum total value of the watch components per watch and watch movement that are eligible for duty-free entry into the United States from $800 to $3,000 per watch and from $35 to $300 per watch movement due to recent increases in gold prices.
   Congress developed the insular watch program after World War II to stimulate the development of skilled jobs on the impoverished islands. The business took mostly root in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (For more details about the program, read the January American Shipper, pages 42-46.)
   Comments for the proposed rulemaking are due to the departments by Feb. 23. The Federal Register notice is available online at https://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/07-294.htm.