Full compliance with the CBP proposal to revamp multiple government standards customs brokers are required to meet (see 2006040037) would likely take at least a year to complete, and potentially more, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments filed Aug. 4. The updates would require dramatic changes during an already especially complex time in the industry and the broader economy, it said. Comments in the docket are due Aug. 4.
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 some of the top stories from July 27-31 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
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. 6, it said in a CSMS message. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the exclusions was published July 23 (see 2007210026). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.53. 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.
Some of CBP's proposed changes for the regulations that govern customs brokers (see 2006040037) appear likely result in unexpected problems if not addressed by the agency before the rules are finalized, the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association said in recently filed comments. “We feel strongly against the concept of a customs broker being a 'force multiplier' from an enforcement perspective and, while we do want to ensure there is 'enhanced compliance,' deputizing brokers, as some of these proposed changes demand, can lead to an unnecessarily conflictive, non-productive broker-importer as well as broker-CBP client relationship,” the trade group said. Comments in the docket are due Aug. 4.
Shipments of unsold merchandise entered under Section 321 exemptions must list “the proprietor of the warehouse operated by the online fulfillment service provider as the ultimate consignee,” CBP said in a ruling posted by the agency on July 31. The ruling came in response to an internal advice request from Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, it said. “While a nonresident may not be listed as the ultimate consignee, the nonresident may make the informal entry as an owner or purchaser,” CBP said.
Lollipops attached to a plastic piece that looks like a mouth are classifiable based on the candy rather than the novelty holders, CBP said in a May 18 ruling. The ruling is a result of an internal advice request from the Agriculture and Prepared Products Center of Excellence and Expertise. Imaginings 3, though the Sandler Travis law firm, requested input on the classification and country of origin marking for its Lip Pops.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from July 20-24 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Department of Justice reached an $8 million settlement agreement with CWD, which does business as Centric Parts, over questionable classifications of imported brake pads, DOJ said in news releases. The settlement resolves separate whistleblower complaints filed in Michigan and California. Centric is alleged to have misclassified mounted brake pads as unmounted brake pads upon import, DOJ said. Mounted brake pads have a 2.5% duty rate, while unmounted pads are duty-free.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a new round of product exclusions for products on the fourth list of Section 301 tariffs on products from China. New subheading 9903.88.53 will be used for the new exclusions. The new set of exclusions are reflected in “11 existing ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and 53 specially prepared product descriptions, which together respond to 242 separate exclusion requests,” according to the notice.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories from July 13-17 in case they were missed.