CBP posted a record of changes for December to the ACE ABI CATAIR (Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements). The changes were to Appendix T (Common In-Bond Errors). The change log is (here). The full CATAIR is (here). The Appendix T is (here).
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.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Jan. 21 with 57 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 175,605. The most recent ruling is dated 01/11/2013.
CBP posted an updated version of it's frequently asked questions (FAQs) on policy for cargo release/simplified entry. Among updated information is a list of documents supported within the pilot program through the recently added document imaging capability. The FAQs also now say "CBP has a tentative plan to expand the pilot to the ocean mode of transportation in 2014."
CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued statistics on their fiscal year 2012 intellectual property rights seizures. The statistics show that while the number of seized counterfeit goods has decreased since FY 2011, the total manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods increased , said CBP. Handbags/wallets remained at as the top category of commodities seized by value, making up 40 percent of the MSRP seized, said CBP
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
Sandler Travis hired two customs lawyers, it said in a press release. Robert DeCamp, previously of Simon Gluck, was hired as a member in the firm's New York office. Emily Simon, previously at Baker and McKenzie, was hired as an associate in Sandler Travis' Washington office.
The January version of CBP's Trade Transformation Update removed some mentions of future plans for Simplified Entry that were included in the December version. The January document also included a list of planned capabilities and their benefits in the Automated Commercial Environment, something CBP has previously released. Otherwise, the document was largely unchanged.
CBP affirmed a recent ruling on whether the transport of a blended gasoline outside the U.S. constituted a Jones Act violation, it said in ruling HQ H233786. The ruling, dated Jan. 7, was in response to a request for reconsideration of a previous ruling that said the coastwise transfer of the blend on a foreign-flagged vessel would violate the Jones Act. The request for reconsideration of the original ruling came from Jeanne Grasso, a lawyer at Blank Rome, on the behalf of an undisclosed client.
The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) voted Jan. 15 to adopt a document outlining principles for the One U.S. Government at the Border initiative and recommend that CBP look to the document as it moves forward. The efforts can be monitored through "CBP reporting quarterly back to COAC on progress being made to implement programs that align with these principles, principally through the [Border Interagency Executive Council]," said COAC.
CBP provided some advice on how to reduce the likelihood of holds as a result of new food facility registration requirements. Beginning Feb. 1, if a foreign food facility is required to register with the Food and Drug Administration, but fails to do so, food from that facility that is being imported or offered for import into the U.S. is subject to refusal under section 801(l) of the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. Food facility registrations (FFRs) that are not renewed by Jan. 31 will be subject to invalidation of registration and could result in food shipments manufactured by those facilities without valid registrations to be held at the port or refused upon arrival in the U.S., said CBP in a CSMS message.