CBP is requesting comments by Oct. 9 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. The notice ran in the Federal Register Aug. 8.
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.
New lobbyist registrations on trade issues include:
Gibson Guitar and the Department of Justice (DOJ) settled a contentious dispute over allegations of Lacey Act violations related to the purchase of wood from Madagascar and India, both sides said Aug. 6. Gibson agreed to pay penalties, withdraw claims against wood seized as part of the government's investigation and improve compliance efforts, while the government agreed to defer prosecution, according to the agreement.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Aug. 6. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs; etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics; etc.
CBP is requesting comments by Oct. 9 for an existing information collection on petroleum refineries in foreign trade sub-zones. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours or to the information collected. The notice ran in the Federal Register Aug. 8.
CBP moved the East Coast Trade Symposium from Sept. 27-28 to Oct. 29-30 to maximize participation, it said. Registration for the conference is expected to open during the week of August 13. There will be a limit of three representatives per company to enable a wide variety of companies to participate, said CBP.
The Senate Aug. 3 approved Meredith Broadbent's nomination as a commissioner in the International Trade Commission. Broadbent is a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and has been a Trade Advisor at the Global Business Dialogue, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Industry, Market Access, and Telecommunications, and a senior professional staff member for the House Ways and Means Committee. (See ITT's Online Archives 11110733 for summary of the nomination.)
CBP said it updated information on a frequently asked question on the basics for duty rates.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) hopes to progress legislative efforts in September on granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia, he said in a statement. The House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have approved similar legislation to give PNTR to Russia. "Upon our return from the August constituent work period, the House is prepared to take up under suspension of the rules a bill to extend [PNTR] to Russia, combined with the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act, should the Senate and President commit to support passage before the end of September."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said its redesigned Website is giving users a chance to preview and provide feedback before the site is officially launched within the next two weeks. A link to the preview is (here).