The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America has presented a long list of measures CBP could take to ease the pain for brokers dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, with the trade group’s request for a deferral of duty payments (see 2003230025) just one item of many, NCBFAA President Amy Magnus said in an interview March 24. Many of them are requests that CBP delay deadlines -- including, for example, for responses to CF-28 requests for information -- that are harder to meet as clients close their workplaces and operate skeleton staffs, Magnus said.
Brian Feito
Brian Feito is Managing Editor of International Trade Today, Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. A licensed customs broker who spent time at the Department of Commerce calculating antidumping and countervailing duties, Brian covers a wide range of subjects including customs and trade-facing product regulation, the courts, antidumping and countervailing duties and Mexico and the European Union. Brian is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason University. He joined the staff of Warren Communications News in 2012.
CBP port operations remain unaffected by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with commercial traffic remaining steady and cargo flows near normal levels, CBP said on calls held March 19 and 20. But the agency does expect a slowdown in Detroit and Laredo, according to a summary of the March 19 call emailed by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, and the number of trucks crossing the border in San Diego is down 2% to 5% over the past couple of days, CBP’s San Diego field office said on a call March 20.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 9-15:
CBP’s cargo operations remain mostly unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, CBP said on a call held March 13, according to an emailed update from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. There are no additional screening requirements for cargo because medical professionals have advised that COVID-19 is transmitted by people not cargo, CBP said on the call, according to the American Association of Exporters and Importers. “If CBP receives different guidance, they will relay that information immediately,” CBP said, as relayed by the NCBFAA.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant one-year extensions to 11 exclusions from the first list of Section 301 tariffs on China that were due to expire March 25, it said in a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to its website. The notice is silent on the other exclusions issued alongside the 11 that were granted extensions, so those appear set to expire on March 25.
The Court of International Trade will hear the recent series of lawsuits challenging Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives as a three-judge panel, according to multiple people familiar with the cases. Though the court’s case management system was down as of press time for an IT upgrade, the panel will apparently decide the similar cases filed in recent weeks by PrimeSource, Oman Fasteners, Huttig, Astrotech, Trinity, New Supplies, Aslanbas, J. Conrad, Metropolitan Staple, and 10 companies including SouthernCarlson (see 2003030048).
Importation of a product bearing an Underwriters Laboratories certification mark before UL approves that specific product for certification is trademark infringement, and such goods are subject to forfeiture, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in a March 11 decision. Affirming a 2018 ruling from the Court of International Trade (see 1901100034), the Federal Circuit found ICCS, though approved to put UL marks on some of its imported butane canisters, infringed UL’s trademarks when it imported similar canisters prior to UL’s approval of its multiple listing request.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 2-8:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service should allow for a “soft enforcement” period following its deadline for ACE filing of APHIS Core partner government agency (PGA) data in August, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments to the agency dated March 4. While the Aug. 3 deadline proposed by the agency allows enough time for brokers to get ready for mandatory filing (see 2001310042), some flexibility in implementation would “guard against unwelcome disruptions in trade,” the NCBFAA said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will grant a series of medical product exclusions from List 4 Section 301 tariffs on products from China, it said in a pre-publication copy of a notice. The new exclusions, which are based on 59 separate exclusion requests, cover eight Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings: 3401.19.0000, 3926.90.9910, 4015.19.0550, 4818.90.0000, 6210.10.5000, 6307.90.6090, 6307.90.6800 and 6307.90.9889.