U.S. Customs regulations allow duty free entry for certain products produced in the United States that are exported from one U.S. port and imported at another U.S. port. These products are classified under U.S. Customs regulations as American Goods Returning to the U.S. This approach has been used, for example, in the case of certain gasoline and distillate products that are produced at U.S. refineries located on the Gulf coast and transported by ship to terminals located in Canada, and where the
product then is transported by truck to markets in the United States. What standards and requirements apply to imported gasoline in the case of gasoline that is classified by the U.S. Customs Service as American Goods Returning to the U.S.?
40 CFR §§ 80.65 and 80.101 require importers of RFG or conventional gasoline to meet applicable standards, and to meet other requirements including sampling, testing, record keeping, and reporting. EPA considers gasoline to be imported for purposes of the RFG and anti-dumping programs if it consists, in whole or in part, of gasoline produced at refineries located outside the United States and imported into the United States. As a result, EPA does not consider gasoline to be imported for purposes of the RFG and anti-dumping programs where the gasoline has been classified as American Goods Returned to the U.S. by the U.S. Customs Service, provided that the gasoline was produced at a refinery located within the United States and has not been mixed with gasoline produced at a refinery located outside the U.S. This gasoline must be included in the RFG or anti-dumping compliance calculations by the producing refiner, using that refiner s individual baseline where applicable. In addition, because the gasoline has been included in the producing refiner s compliance calculations, all of the gasoline that was exported must ultimately be classified as American Goods Returned to the U.S. and none may be used in a foreign country. Moreover, the gasoline classified as American Goods Returned to the U.S. may not be combined with any gasoline produced at a foreign refinery prior to being imported into the United States.
Thus, under the example described in the question -- of gasoline produced at a U.S. refinery located on the Gulf coast and transported to markets in the U.S. via a terminal in Canada -- the Canadian terminal would need dedicated tankage for gasoline classified as American Goods Returned to the U.S. in order for the U.S. importer to avoid treating the gasoline as imported gasoline for the RFG or anti-dumping programs. Gasoline from these tanks could supply only U.S. markets, and the gasoline classified as American Goods Returned to the U.S. could not be fungibly mixed at the Canadian terminal with any gasoline produced at a non-U.S. refinery. In addition, none of the gasoline that was produced at the U.S. refinery and included in the refinery s compliance calculations could be used in Canadian markets.
Any refiner who includes in refinery compliance calculations gasoline that has been exported because the gasoline will be classified as American Goods Returned to the U.S., or any importer who excludes from the importer standards and requirements gasoline that has been so classified, should retain copies of all documents submitted to, or issued by, the U.S. Customs Service regarding this classification of the gasoline. (10/31/95)
This question and answer was posted at List of Reformulated Gasoline and Anti-Dumping Questions and Answers: July 1, 1994 through November 10, 1997 (pdf)