Changes in the Insular Possessions Watch, Watch Movement and Jewelry Program

The Departments amend their regulations governing watch duty- exemption allocations and the watch and jewelry duty-refund benefits for producers in the United States insular possessions (the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) . The rule amends ITA regulations by further clarifying the range of documents that may be needed for verification of duty-free shipments of jewelry into the United States and by clarifying which wages qualify as creditable and which do not for purposes of calculating the duty-refund for watches and jewelry. Also, the regulations were amended by making minor editorial changes within the definition of new firm for watches. Finally, we amend the duty refund process by dividing the amount of the annual duty refund certificate into two installments. These amendments make grammatical changes, clarify a portion of the regulations, update methods of documentation and help producers receive benefits in a more timely fashion.