1.1 The purpose of this Notice is to a) advise exporters of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruling on the classification of drilled studs, b) to summarize for companies the process to be used by U.S. Customs and c) to advise companies affected by the ruling of the process to be used by the Softwood Lumber Division of the Export Import Controls Bureau (EICB).

2.1 A decision by U.S. Court of International Trade, Judge Barzilay, on December 16, 1998 upheld the classification of drilled studs to HTSUS 4407.10.0015. The Court further held that all importers of drilled studs should have been afforded 60 days from July 1, 1998 within which to enter their shipments of drilled studs under HTSUS heading 4418.

2.2 To comply with the Court's ruling, U.S. Customs has instructed its ports that

2.3 For full details, companies are advised to contact their customs brokers or U.S. Customs.

3.1 The classification decision will be applied to all unliquidated entries of drilled studs entered BEFORE August 30, 1998 (60 days following July 1st), including those unliquidated entries of drilled studs entered before July 1st which remain unliquidated. However, as noted above, importers are required to provide all documentation necessary to support their claim. This documentation is to be forwarded to the appropriate Port Director, U.S. Customs. Unliquidated entries of drilled studs entered under HTSUS heading 4418 before July 1st will be liquidated under HTSUS heading 4418.

3.2 For entries of drilled studs that were liquidated prior to August 30, 1998 under HTSUS 4407, importers may file a protest (with supporting documentation) requesting classification under HTSUS heading 4418 to the appropriate Port Director, U.S. Customs. After review of the request, U.S. Customs will either reliquidate under HTSUS heading 4418 or protest the request.

3.3 If your company made shipments of drilled studs which are affected by the above ruling and if your company plans to submit documentation to U.S. Customs, you may apply to the EICB through your broker to request the cancellation of the applicable permits. To expedite processing of the cancellation of permits issued under HTSUS4407, companies are encouraged to provide at the same time, a copy of the information submitted to the U.S. Customs to the Softwood Lumber Division.

3.4 Please ensure that copies of all documentation sent to U.S. Customs plus a copy of the export permit for each affected shipment are forwarded to:

4.1 In addition to the documentation provided to U.S. Customs and to the EICB, please ensure that the following data is contained in your correspondence to the EICB:

4.2 This will allow the EICB to react in an expeditious manner should U.S. Customs liquidate or reliquidate the entries under HTSUS heading 4418.

5.1 Upon receipt of the above noted documentation, the EICB will proceed to further evaluate each company's situation. Should U.S. Customs liquidate or reliquidate a company's HTSUS 4407 entries of drilled studs for the said period under HTSUS heading 4418, the EICB will cancel the applicable permits issued for those entries and exporters will be advised by facsimile of the amount of allocations that have been returned to their EICB accounts and, if applicable, credits for export fees paid.

5.2 Exporters are reminded that the amount of allocations returned to their EICB accounts are available for use only until March 31, 1999.

6.1 For further information please contact the Softwood Lumber Division (EPS), Trade Controls Policy Division, Export and Import Controls Bureau, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.