Tim Warren

CBP affirmed its classification of a camera used during surgeries that allows for remote viewing and storage as a "television-type camera" due to its ability to capture images in "real time," said the agency in a July 9 ruling. Stryker Communications entered the cameras during 2011 in one of 11 entries that make up "a pendant lighting system used in medical clinics or surgical suites." The ruling (here), HQ H237590, was a further review of a protest that included a consideration of a 2013 Court of International Trade case involving the classification of a camera (see 13122326).

CBP moved up the deployment date for Foreign Trade Zone entries in the Automated Commercial Environment following some initial concerns about adequate time for testing, said Cynthia Whittenburg, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America government affairs conference on Sept. 28. CBP previously said FTZ entries wouldn't be available for testing until after Feb. 27, alongside all other quota-related entry types that are scheduled to be deployed on the same day that ACE becomes mandatory. That plan raised some concerns among the Trade Support Network (see 1509100015).

Members of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) were meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill Sept. 29 to request that several specific provisions make it into a final customs reauthorization bill. The meetings were part of the NCBFAA's Government Affairs Conference. The NCBFAA hopes to see House-proposed antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement language and streamlined drawback provisions in the final bill, according to a paper distributed by the NCBFAA to its members going to the Hill. Congress is still in the process of putting together a Customs Reauthorization conference to resolve differences between customs reauthorization legislation passed by each chamber (see 1507070066).

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet Oct. 29 in Washington, CBP said in a notice (here).

A Federal Communications Commission proposal to remove device certification requirements for importers needs some language changes to avoid unintended regulatory issues, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. The trade group submitted its comments (here) to the agency on Sept. 21 in response to FCC plans to eliminate the import declaration filing requirements on FCC Form 740. While generally in favor of the proposed changes, some language tweaks are necessary to distinguish between the parties involved in import transactions, said the NCBFAA.

CBP properly liquidated entries subject to antidumping duties within the required timeframe, which began when the Commerce Department issued liquidation instructions and not when it published a Federal Register notice of a court decision, CBP said in a June 24 internal advice ruling (here). CBP ruled in HQ H258962 that Alltrade, which imported pry bar sets from China, was wrong in its assertion that the six month liquidation timeline began with the Federal Register notice announcing the court decision to the public, called a Timken Notice.

The clear bag that a seven piece comforter set is shipped and sold in does not change the classification of the linens as a set, CBP said in a ruling on June 12 (here). In the internal advice ruling, HQ H250132, CBP looked whether the parts of a set should be classified separately due to inclusion of the bag within the set. The importer, Extreme Linen argued that the set doesn't satisfy the requirements for classification as "goods put up for retail set." But "only if a group of articles classifiable in different headings and packaged together fail the requirements of a set may they be classified separately," said CBP.

CBP plans to eventually post liquidation notices on the agency's website, said a CBP spokeswoman by email. "As part of the [Automated Commercial Environment] Single Window initiative, efforts are underway to automate liquidation notices and have them posted on cbp.gov at some point in the future," she said. Currently, liquidation notice bulletins are posted at individual ports of entry on a weekly basis, as required by regulation. It's unclear whether CBP plans to do away with the paper bulletin, which would require a change to CBP regulations. The idea for electronic posting has been discussed for several years and was even included in a White House budget proposal in 2013 (see 13050924).

The Food and Drug Administration should allow for distinctions between major and minor mistakes within the filer/customs broker evaluation when considering Voluntary Qualified Importer Program eligibility, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. The FDA should also improve its data collection and create an agency rulings system before the VQIP is implemented, said the NCBFAA in comments to the agency on VQIP (here). Other commenters (here) included the American Association of Exporters and Importers (here), the Grocery Manufacturers Association (here) and the European Union (here).

While work toward the OakPass program at the Port of Oakland is still in the early stages, the Federal Maritime Commission already has some detailed information on the plan, said John Cushing, president of PierPass during an Aug. 20 interview. PierPass, which is commonly associated with the “OffPeak” program in the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, will serve as the underlying administration services, including the hardware and software used for the payments, said Cushing. “OakPass is the program and PierPass will do that administration,” he said.