Trade Agreements Act Of 1979

Summary of Trade Agreements Act Of 1979

An act of Congress implementing certain agreements negotiated under the Tokyo Round (read this and related legal terms for further details). The act replaced the Countervailing Duty Law and Antidumping Act of 1921 and abolished the Final List and American Selling Price (qq.v.) methods of valuation for customs, as used for certain products.

Under this act, intangible assists (e.g., design work) are not dutiable to the extent that they are the product of labor performed in the United States. The actual selling price of the merchandise will determine value for duty, irrespective of whether this price is the “freely offered”price or the price that conforms with “ordinary course of trade.”This transaction value supersedes the export value of merchandise. “Generally accepted accounting principles”will be employed by customs where values must be determined other than by invoice.

The act opens government procurement, on a reciprocal basis, to non-U.S. suppliers and establishes a policy on technical barriers to trade. Title VIII of the act (also known as the Distilled Spirits Tax Revision Act of 1979) provided authority for new regulations governing importation of liquor.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)