CBP Working on Guidance for Importing Used Cars From NAFTA Region 'As Soon as Possible'

Importers continue to ask CBP what they should do about importing used cars that were built in Canada, the U.S. or Mexico, when they cannot know if those vehicles meet the new regional value content standards.

“We do understand everyone's frustration,” a CBP staffer said during a July 2 call with traders, but there is no interim guidance. That means importers will have to pay the duties on those cars, because they cannot know if they qualify for USMCA treatment. But the agency is working on guidance, she said.

There was also another round of complaints about the issue of a customer wanting a USMCA certification, but the company providing the parts not wanting to pass along a producer certificate, because that company is a distributor that wants to keep its suppliers confidential. CBP said there is one possible workaround -- if the buyer needs to know the part is from the U.S. to calculate regional value content, and is asking for a certificate of origin in that context, then a distributor should feel free to fill it out if it has done the due diligence with the producer. While the buyer is calling that a certificate of origin, it is not really an official document, because CBP does not need to be involved in inter-company communication when no borders are crossed. On the other hand, if the distributor is buying from a Mexican producer, but cannot call itself the importer, there is no work-around, CBP reiterated. For CBP, only a producer, exporter or importer can sign a COO.

Several traders asked about the issue of a good having work done in Mexico, but not enough to count as substantial transformation or a tariff shift, and how that would affect both USMCA eligibility and Section 232 or Section 301 tariffs. A CBP staffer said that the company must look at the product-specific rule of origin to see if the good qualifies for USMCA. Whether it is subject to 232 or 301 tariffs is a separate issue, and has to do with Part 102 country of origin marking rules. “It’s possible to have a different outcome, though it’s unlikely,” the staffer said.