CBP issued a withhold release order on “palm oil and products containing palm oil produced by Sime Darby Plantation Berhad and its subsidiaries, joint ventures, and affiliated entities in Malaysia,” the agency said in a news release Dec. 30. The WRO follows a monthslong investigation into SDP, Malaysia's largest producer of palm oil, Ana Hinojosa, executive director of CBP’s Trade Remedy and Law Enforcement Division, said during a Dec. 30 call with reporters. “It's pretty clear, we're expecting the trade community to know your supply chain,” she said.
Tim Warren
Timothy Warren is Executive Managing Editor of Communications Daily. He previously led the International Trade Today editorial team from the time it was purchased by Warren Communications News in 2012 through the launch of Export Compliance Daily and Trade Law Daily. Tim is a 2005 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Dec. 21-24 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will extend exclusions on goods used to treat COVID-19 from the Section 301 tariffs on goods from China, it said in a notice posted on the agency's website. “In light of the rising spread and ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19, the U.S. Trade Representative has determined that maintaining or re-imposing additional duties on certain products subject to the action no longer is appropriate and that the application of additional duties to these products could impact U.S. preparedness to address COVID-19,” it said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Dec. 14-18 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
CBP issued filing instructions in a CSMS message for goods eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences treatment after the GSP benefits program expires at the end of the year. As in previous GSP lapses, filers would continue to use the GSP special program indicator to flag their entries, but would have to pay duties at the normal, non-preferential rate for any imports with a time of entry during the lapse. GSP is currently set to expire Dec. 31 if the program isn’t extended by Congress. GSP renewal didn't make into year-end spending legislation, so expiration is likely (see 2012210040).
CBP should work with the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee to “clarify the types of audits or reviews to which trusted trader partners may be subject regarding compliance, including forced labor,” the COAC Trusted Trader Working Group said in a recommendation that was approved during the Dec. 16 COAC meeting. Working group co-chair Alexandra Latham said CBP last month began Risk Analysis & Survey Assessments (RASAs) around forced labor (see 2012020046).
CBP's “restrained enforcement” of the USMCA provisions will end as previously planned after Dec. 31 (see 2011040039), acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan said during the Dec. 16 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting. “Starting with the new year, CBP will enforce the USMCA as it does all other trade agreements,” he said. The agency allowed for lax enforcement of certifications of origin requirements for six months after the deal took effect so industry could adjust to the changes (see 2006020023). The CBP USMCA Center, created to help with USMCA implementation (see 2005120042), will remain in place for another three to five years, he said.
CBP is issuing a “blanket” authorization to allow the release of most types of merchandise on or after Dec. 16 through Dec. 31 under Immediate Delivery (ID) procedures, it said in a CSMS message. Many entry filers make regular use of ID procedures for fresh fruits and vegetables and other merchandise from Mexico and Canada, etc.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Dec. 7-11 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
A California clothing importer and its owners were indicted over schemes to undervalue apparel and evade customs duties, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a Dec. 10 news release. The importer, C'est Toi Jeans (CTJ), and owner Si Oh Rhew, of La Canada Flintridge, and his son, Lance Rhew, of Los Angeles, a CTJ corporate officer who owns another company that did business with CTJ, were the subjects of a 35-count indictment from a federal grand jury, the Department of Justice said. The charges include “conspiracy; entry of goods falsely classified; entry of goods by means of false statements; passing false and fraudulent papers through customhouse.”