The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is the official list of all goods that can be imported into the U.S., organized by product type and 10‑digit codes. For each code, it specifies the normal duty rate, any special tariff treatment (for example, under free trade agreements), and whether quotas or other restrictions apply. Importers must classify every shipment under the correct HTSUS code; U.S. Customs then uses that code and the related notes (such as Chapter 99 subchapters and U.S. notes) to determine how much duty is owed and what trade programs or quotas apply to that shipment.
The United States–Israel Free Trade Area (USIFTA) is the 1985 free trade agreement between the U.S. and Israel—the United States’ first FTA—which reduces or eliminates many tariffs and other barriers on bilateral trade. Congress approved it in the United States–Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (Public Law 99‑47). Section 4(b) of that Act authorizes the President, when needed to maintain the overall balance of concessions with Israel under the FTA, to proclaim withdrawals, suspensions, modifications, or continuations of duties; to continue existing duty‑free or excise treatment; or to impose additional duties, as the President deems required to carry out the agreement. That is the legal basis used here to extend Israel’s duty‑free agricultural quotas.
The kilogram amounts in Annex I are annual volume limits (tariff‑rate quota quantities) for specific Israeli agricultural products that can enter the U.S. duty‑free in 2026. Under the U.S.–Israel Agreement on Trade in Agricultural Products, Chapter 99, Subchapter VIII, U.S. notes 3–7 correspond to: • Note 3 – butter, fresh or sour cream • Note 4 – dried milk • Note 5 – cheese and substitutes for cheese • Note 6 – peanuts • Note 7 – ice cream The listed quantities (e.g., 466,000 kg under note 3) are the maximum amounts of qualifying Israel‑origin goods in each category that can be imported at the special duty‑free rate; imports above those volumes are still allowed but are charged the normal (higher) tariff. The CBP quota bulletin for 2024 shows the same HTSUS structure, codes, notes, and quantity figures that are being extended to 2026 in this proclamation.
Extending these duty‑free quantities through December 31, 2026 keeps the existing tariff‑rate quota treatment in place for another year, so: • U.S. importers of these Israeli products (butter/cream, dried milk, cheese, peanuts, ice cream) can continue to bring in limited volumes at zero duty, lowering their landed costs compared with paying normal tariffs once the quota is filled. • Israeli exporters preserve guaranteed preferential access to the U.S. market for those quota amounts, supporting their sales and pricing in the U.S. • U.S. agricultural producers face continued—but strictly volume‑capped—competition from Israeli dairy and peanut exports; because the quantities are small relative to total U.S. consumption, the impact on domestic producers and overall consumer prices is likely modest, though consumers and food manufacturers benefit from slightly cheaper or more varied imported inputs within the quota.
The USSFTA is the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (approved in the United States–Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, Public Law 108‑78). The USKFTA is the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), approved in the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Public Law 112‑41). Sections 201–202 of both implementation acts authorize the President to modify duties and to proclaim rules of origin (including product‑specific tariff classification rules) in the HTSUS to carry out the agreements. In this proclamation, technical corrections fix errors in those rules of origin (for example, mistyped tariff headings and a mis‑lettered tariff classification rule). Because rules of origin determine when a good is treated as “originating” and eligible for FTA duty breaks, even small coding or cross‑reference errors can cause importers to claim benefits incorrectly or lose benefits they should receive; correcting them is therefore important for legal certainty and proper application of the FTAs.
Tariff classification rules (TCRs) in this context are product‑specific rules of origin tied to free trade agreements: they tell you what kind of change in tariff heading or what level of regional value a good must have, based on its HTSUS classification, to qualify for FTA duty preferences. They are written in the HTSUS general notes (for example, general notes 25 and 33) and refer to precise HS chapter and heading numbers. U.S. notes are legally binding notes in the HTSUS (including “Additional U.S. Notes” and U.S. notes to Chapter 98/99 subchapters) that define terms, set conditions, or establish quotas and special treatments. Renumbering or deleting subheadings and adjusting cross‑references—as Annex II does by correcting mis‑typed headings, re‑lettering a TCR, and removing an obsolete reference to subheading 9819.15.10—matters because importers and Customs rely on these exact citations to classify goods, determine FTA eligibility, and apply quotas. Incorrect or outdated references can lead to misclassification, wrong duty rates, or improper use or denial of trade preferences.
This proclamation states that any provisions of earlier proclamations and executive orders that conflict with its changes to the HTSUS are “superseded to the extent of such inconsistency.” The specific earlier instruments it identifies as having technical errors or incomplete conforming changes—and thus being corrected in Annex II—include: • Proclamation 7747 (Dec. 30, 2003), which first implemented the United States–Singapore FTA and added general note 25 and its rules of origin. • Proclamation 9072 (Dec. 23, 2013), which modified general note 33 for KORUS rules of origin. • Proclamations 8114 (Mar. 19, 2007), 8240 (Apr. 17, 2008), and 8323 (Nov. 25, 2008), and later Proclamation 10326 (Dec. 23, 2021), which created, modified, and then deleted HTSUS subheading 9819.15.10 and related U.S. notes under the African Growth and Opportunity Act but left stray cross‑references. • Proclamations 10976 (Sept. 29, 2025) and 10984 (Oct. 17, 2025), which added new numbered subdivisions in U.S. Note 2(v) to subchapter III of chapter 99 but did not update the cross‑references in headings 9903.02.74–9903.02.77. For the Israel agricultural quotas, this 2025 proclamation also effectively supersedes, for the 2026 period, the most recent prior ATAP implementation proclamation (for example, Proclamation 10875 of Dec. 20, 2024), to the extent its earlier date‑limited HTSUS notes conflict with the new 2026 entries. Full texts of these proclamations and related executive orders can be found in the Federal Register, on govinfo.gov, or via the American Presidency Project.