The Southern Shrimp Alliance voiced appreciation for the inclusion of Rep. Charles Boustany's Preventing Recurring Trade Evasion and Circumvention Act (PROTECT) within the the Customs Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act of 2012 (HR-6642). HR-6642 was introduced Dec. 7 by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas).
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.
CBP is moving toward mutual recognition with Israel, the agency said in a press release. CBP Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar and Israeli Customs Director General Doron Arbely signed a joint work plan, said CBP Dec. 7. The work plan establishes a pathway to signing a mutual recognition agreement between CBP’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and the Israeli Tax Authority’s Authorized Economic Operator Program.
Drawback claims made on goods exported to Chile after January 1, 2012 are subject to U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement special treatment as described in 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(4)(B) and 1313(n), said CBP in a CSMS message. U.S. duty drawback on exportations to Chile started being phased out January 1, 2012, for the following types of drawback:
CBP is extending the comment period to Jan. 10 for an existing information collection concerning CBP protest forms. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours or to the information collected.
CBP received no comments on proposed ruling revocations in a Nov. 7 bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 46), said a CBP spokesman. Comments were due Dec. 7 on two notices proposing to revoke rulings and similar treatment regarding the tariff classification of screwdrivers with interchangeable bits and valve cable supports.
Bob Henry from Robinson, Kan. was elected as Trade Policy & International Affairs Committee chairman for the American Soybean Association, the ASA said in a press release. The ASA also has confirmed Danny Murphy from Canton, Miss., as president and Steve Wellman from Syracuse, Neb., as chairman, it said.
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., who will become the chairman of the House Commerce Committee's Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee said during an interview that the recent disagreement over miscellaneous tariff bills (MTB) and whether they amount to congressional earmarks is a new wrinkle to the process. The MTB faces controversy over whether the duty suspensions are earmarks and if such a bill violates a congressional GOP ban on earmarks.
CBP said it resolved some problems it was experiencing with Bioterrorism Act (BTA) Prior Notices. The issues had to do with the processing posting properly to bills and in-bonds that are BTA satisfied, it said in a Dec. 7 CSMS message. CBP "continues to work on the bills and inbonds that received incorrect postings with regard to BTA prior notice between Wednesday, December 5 and the resumption of correct processing," it said.
CBP Updated its frequently asked questions for the Centers for Excellence and Expertise. Among the new information within the FAQs is an update on the agency's outreach with brokers to develop a defined role within the CEEs and plans for the opening of the recently announced CEEs scheduled to open in FY 2013.
CBP posted numerous documents providing overviews of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and its benefits for various industries as well as other information on ACE. Many of the fact sheets mirror the agency's previous list of ACE benefits by industry (here), though there are several industries that aren't addressed in the previous document.