Tim Warren

The stevia importer that paid CBP $575,000 over allegations of using forced labor (see 2008140016) said the payment was the result of a settlement with the agency and didn't include any admission of guilt. CBP touted the enforcement action against PureCircle U.S.A. as the first such penalty the agency issued since the forced labor laws were changed in 2016. “Rather than engage in extensive litigation requiring travel to China during the COVID-19 pandemic to challenge the penalty notices, PureCircle instead settled the matter with the U.S. government for less than 7% of the amount sought by CBP in penalties,” the company said in a news release Aug. 14.

CBP is planning to take an 45-day “informed compliance” approach for new Hong Kong marking requirements, a CBP spokesman said in an email. The informed compliance period will follow the transition period that ends Sept. 25. Starting on that date, goods produced in Hong Kong are supposed to be marked as a product of China (see 2008100027). During periods of informed compliance, CBP doesn't take enforcement action over compliance with new provisions except for egregious violators.

CBP will add the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs on Aug. 20, it said in a CSMS message. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the exclusions was published Aug. 11 (see 2008060008). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.55. The exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the Annex to USTR’s notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. The product exclusions apply retroactively to Sept. 1, 2019, the date the tariffs on the fourth list took effect, and remain in effect until Sept. 1, 2020. The CSMS message also includes a summary of Section 301 duties that shows information on each tranche of tariffs and granted product exclusions.

The change in marking requirements for products from Hong Kong doesn't subject the goods to tariffs meant for goods from China, CBP confirmed in a list of frequently asked questions posted to the agency's website Aug. 12. “The change in marking requirements does not affect country of origin determinations for purposes of assessing ordinary duties under Chapters 1-97 of the [Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S.] or temporary or additional duties under Chapter 99 of the HTSUS,” CBP said. “Therefore, goods that are products of Hong Kong should continue to report International Organization for Standardization (ISO) country code 'HK' as the country of origin when required.”

Some “high tech” goods of Chinese origin sent to Mexico for minimal handling and then to the U.S. are eligible for USMCA tariff treatment, CBP said in an Aug. 7 ruling. Jose Fierro, an El Paso, Texas, customs broker, requested the ruling less than a week after USMCA entered into force July 1. The broker said that a client “has contracted with a Mexican maquiladora facility to provide certain logistical services” and inquired whether USMCA treatment would apply.

CBP issued a withhold release order for imported garments produced by the Hero Vast Group, the agency said in an Aug. 11 news release. Effective Aug. 11, CBP will stop goods produced by Hero Vast, which includes “Shanghai Hero Vast International Trading Co., Ltd.; Henan Hero Vast Garment Co., Ltd.; Yuexi Hero Vast Garment Co., Ltd.; Ying Han International Co., Ltd.; and Hero Vast Canada Inc.,” CBP said. It said the WRO is based on information that “that reasonably indicated the use of prison labor in the production of those garments.” Under the WRO, CBP will detain such cargo at all ports of entry. Importers of the goods can either re-export the detained shipments or provide information to CBP to demonstrate the goods are not produced with forced labor.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from Aug. 3-7 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

Goods produced in Hong Kong will need to be marked as a product of China starting Sept. 25, CBP said in a notice. The marking changes are the result of the July 14 Executive Order that ended Hong Kong's special trade status.

The CBP proposal to require brokers to report to the government a client's attempts of illegal activity (see 2008040038) is an “unreasonable responsibility to place on a broker,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in comments. That feeling is shared by several other trade associations that filed in the CBP docket on proposed updates to customs brokers regulations. The idea “shifts a burden that should be placed on the CBP as a law enforcement agency onto the broker instead” and directs brokers to “determine the intention of the noncompliance, error, or omission,” the Chamber said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a new set of product exclusions for products on the fourth list of Section 301 tariffs on products from China. New subheading 9903.88.55 will be used for the exclusions, which will be found in U.S. Note 20(hhh) to subchapter III of chapter 99. The new set of exclusions are reflected in “one existing ten-digit HTSUS subheading and 9 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 25 separate exclusion requests,” the notice said.