Tim Warren

CBP would like to add a forced labor component to the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program's trade compliance requirements by the end of this fiscal year, CTPAT Director Manuel Garza said in a government issue paper released ahead of the July 15 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30. There's been discussion about adding such a component for a long time (see 1907250029), but CBP hadn't previously provided firm timing plans.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 29-July 2 in case they were missed.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 22-26 in case they were missed.

Keeping customs brokers updated with the details of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement compliance is critical to helping smaller importers transition away from NAFTA, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade. Smith was interviewed on a June 25 podcast hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies about the USMCA, which enters into force July 1.

Encapsulated fish oil powder doesn't meet the CBP requirements for classification in Chapter 15 as an animal or vegetable fat or oil, the agency said in a June 18 ruling. The ruling came at the request of Socius Ingredients, which asked CBP to rule on the classification of the product. The capsules are imported in bulk and sold to food and supplement companies, it said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will seek comments on whether to increase tariffs on the products already targeted in the Airbus dispute or add other EU products to the list, the agency said in a notice. USTR also seeks input on whether any EU products should be removed from the list. Comments are due July 26, with the docket opening June 26. The agency previously went through a similar process but made only minimal changes to the existing list of products subject to the tariffs (see 2002180040).

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June15-19 in case they were missed.

CBP added June 18 the ability in ACE for importers to file entries with recently excluded goods in the fourth tranche of Section 301 tariffs, it said in a CSMS message. The official Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice for the exclusions was published June 12 (see 2006090003). The exclusions are in subheading 9903.88.49. 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 Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a new product exclusion for motorboats from Section 301 tariffs on the third list of products from China, according to a pre-publication copy of a notice posted to the agency’s website June 19. The exclusion will apply retroactively to Sept. 24, 2018, the date the tariffs on the third list took effect, and will remain in effect until Aug. 7, 2020. The new exclusion will fall under previously created subheading 9903.88.48.

CBP issued a withhold release order for imported hair products “made wholly or in part with hair products produced by Lop County Meixin Hair Product Co. Ltd. (Meixin) in Xinjiang, China,” CBP said in a news release. The WRO was issued due to suspicions of forced labor use and is effective as of June 17, CBP said. The agency issued a similar WRO in May on hair products made by another company in the region (see 2005010040).