CBP issued a CSMS message announcing the issuance of Harmonized System Update 1302 on changes to the 2013 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This update contains 941 ABI records and 102 harmonized tariff records. This update contains modifications made as a result of the USDA sugar certificate automation process.. The modified records are currently available to all ABI participants and can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Contact Jennifer Keeling via email at Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov for all other questions.
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.
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) asked the USTR to maintain the priority foreign country (PFC) designations for Argentina, Chile, China, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia and Russia. The group also asked USTR to keep 25 nations on its so-called watch list and to restore PFC status to the Ukraine. The USTR-led Special 301 Committee met Feb. 20 whether to designate Ukraine as a PFC, the worst classification for IP protection under the Special 301 statute. The hearing focused on countries believed to deny adequate protection of IP or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. citizens who rely on intellectual property protection under the so-called "Special 301" provisions of the Trade Act.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreement under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreements to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.
CBP released a list of its near term priorities for development for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The agency document said work on three items previously mentioned to be priorities, the Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set, automated corrections/deletions, and initial entry summary edits, will begin with "agile pilots." CBP also listed some priorities planned for the second half of the year, including PGA message set integration and entry integration with in-bond.
CBP posted a Feb. 19 version of its CF 1400 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Entrances) electronic query report of the Vessel Management System (VMS), in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by entrances. CBP also posted a version of its CF 1401 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Clearances) electronic query report of the VMS, in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by clearances.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Feb. 19. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc.
The U.S. joined Asian and African enforcement organizations in a recent month-long operation aimed at helping targeted species under serious threat from wildlife crime syndicates, said the World Customs Organization in a press release. Species involved included big cats, elephants, rhinos, pangolins and great apes, said the WCO. "The global Customs community will be pleased at the stunning results achieved during the operation and will be spurred on to even greater heights to ensure that cross-border wildlife crime is effectively and efficiently stamped out to protect threatened species for future generations," said Secretary General of the World Customs Organization Kunio Mikuriya.
The Board of Directors for the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) approved a revision to its recommended "Terms and Conditions of Service" document , the NCBFAA said. The NCBFAA replaced the wording of the "Company as agent" section of the document. The terms of service now say:
The Supreme Court should review an Ancient Coin Collectors Guild (ACCG) suit against CBP, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department in order to clarify the scope of judicial review of presidential action and agency decision making, said the ACCG in a Feb. 12 filing with the high court. The ACCG filed suit against the government to test import restrictions under the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA). The lower courts "have effectively excused State and CBP from any scrutiny despite well-founded allegations" that they ignored the procedural constraints within the CPIA, said the filing.