Q and A
Duty-Free Items
Q. Recently on returning from Turkey I was charged duty on a rug I had bought but told that jewelry could be brought in duty-free. Could you clarify duty-free allowances for Israel, Egypt and Turkey? I have heard there are exemptions for products from developing countries. -- Bruce Shipman, Roxbury, Conn.
A.  A number of items made in developing countries may be brought into the United States duty-free under the Generalized System of Preferences or G.S.P. This system was established in 1976 to encourage commerical importers to buy various items from about 130 countries and thus stimulate jobs and development in those places. Individual travelers can benefit as well, and can be exempted from paying duty on some goods.
Turkey, Egypt and Israel are among the countries designated as part of the system.
Textiles -- which include rugs -- are "import sensitive" and thus are not covered by G.S.P., according to Dan Shepherdson of the trade representative's office,which sets customs guidelines, so travelers have to pay customs duty. Jewelry, however, is excluded from duty, except for gold "rope" necklaces and mixed link necklaces, both from Israel.
Among other kinds of goods exempted, if they come from one of the countries on the list are: baskets of bamboo, willow or rattan; cameras; candy; chinaware, vases and statues; earthenware or stoneware other than household ware available in sets; wood, rattan or plastic furniture; games; jade and precious and semiprecious stones, cut but not set; musical instruments; paper; pearls, loose or temporarily strung and without clasp; perfume; radio receivers, except for use in motor vehicles; records and tapes; silver flatware and tableware; skis and ski equipment; tape recorders; toys, and wood carvings. To be clasified duty-free, items must be bought in the country where they were made. There are a variety of exceptions, and travelers may wish to get more information about specific goods from a customs office or the United States Embassy or Consulate in the country they visit.
Travelers are still entitled to bring into the United States, free of duty, $400 worth of articles ($1,200 from the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa or Guam and $600 from most Caribbean countries) in addition to goods exempted under G.S.P. If you bring in goods worth more than $1,000, customs may require a certificate of origin, also called Form A, which is issued by the seller. Goods that may otherwise enter duty-free under G.S.P. are still banned if they are restricted by other rules, such as those forbidding trade in endangered species.
A free pamphlet, "G.S.P. and the Traveler," listing G.S.P. countries and exempted goods, is available from customs offices.  Spending a Semester at Sea
Q.
There used to be a ship that traveled in international waters with college students and professor, called Semester at Sea. Is it still operating? -- Rose M. Fishkin, Janesburg, N.J.
A.  The Semester at Sea program is still afloat. Its academic sponsor is the University of Pittsburgh. Twice a year, 500 students from colleges around the country along with 40 adult students spend 100 days circling the globe aboard the Universe. The fall semester begins Sept. 12, with the ship sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, and stopping at Kobe, Japan; Shanghai; Keelung, Taiwan; Penang, Malaysia; Madras, India; Mombasa, Kenya; Cape Town (visitng South Africa for the first time since 1983); Salvador, Brazil, La Guaira, Venezuela, and ending at New Orleans. The spring semester begins Jan. 28 in Nassau, Bahamas, then stops in Venezuela, reverses the fall itinerary, and finishes in Seattle. Participants spend about 55 days at sea attending classes and 45 days in port doing field work.
The program is described as the comparative study of civilizations and societies. There is a required multidisciplinary course giving an overview of the regions visited. Students also choose from a variety of courses and examine those areas in the context of the cultures on the ship's route. Adult students may audit classes or take them for credit.
The Universe is a former cargo ship fitted out with classrooms, cafeteria, dormitory-style cabins, student union and athletic and recreational facilities.
Tuition, room board and passage is $11,295 a person with two in a standard cabin. Financial aid is available. More information: Semester at Sea, University of Pittsburgh, 811 William Pitt Union, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15260; (800) 854-0195 or (412) 648-7490. Inventors Museum in Akron
Q.
I have heard of a new museum on inventors and inventions in Ohio. I am a board member of the New York Society of Professional Inventors, and I and our members would be interested in any information. -- Nat Levenberg, New York, N.Y.
A.  Ground is to be broken this winter in Akron for a new home of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The hall and a museum, to be called Inventure Place, is due to be completed in the fall of 1993 at University Street and Broadway in downtown Akron. The museum will feature an 80-foot-high "Great Wall" with five tiers of exhibitions telling the story of invention, a gallery with interactive displays and a 250-seat theater.
The National Invention Center has raised $10 million toward the $47 million needed for the museum. More information: National Invention Center, 80 West Bowery, Suite 201, Akron, Ohio 44308; (216) 762-4463.
For now, the hall of fame remains in the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Arlington Va., in the lobby of Crystal Plaza Building 3, 2021 Jefferson Davis Highway; (703) 557-3341. Exhibits on some of the 94 inductees can be seen weekdays between 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. Monday to Friday. Among the inductees are Eli Whitney, Samuel F. B. Morse, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Henry Ford and more recently the inventors of the videotape recorder, the cardiac pacemaker and the laser.  A Cafe Drink in Berlin
Q.
I read July 10 in "New LIfe in Cafes of Eastern Berlin" about visitors drinking beer, wine and whisky. Do cafegoers no longer drink a concoction called Berliner Weisse? I believe it is a mixture of beer and raspberry syrup. -- H. Hartnett, Sparta, N.J.
A.  Berliner Weisse is a beer with a low alcohol content (2.5 percent, about half the usual in a German beer) and a sour taste. It is still consumed in Berlin cafes and pubs. Normally it is ordered as Berliner Weisse mit Schuss (Berliner Weisse with a shot), which means that it is mixed with a little raspberry syrup to reduce the sourness. On hot days, people also drink it plain. Other variations include adding apple juice or Campari.