Lawmakers reached a deal on the transportation bill that will continue funding surface transportation programs for two years. The deal was reached as part of a conference to iron out differences between separate legislation. Press reports said the bill was expected to pass this week.
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 June 26 with 188 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 171,843. The most recent ruling is dated 6/22/2012 12:00:00 AM.
CBP posted transcripts, questions and answers, and polling results of the first two Webinars focused on the “Role of the Broker” and update to 19 CFR Parts 111 rules.
CBP said Nogales Border Patrol agents seized marijuana hidden within a produce shipment on June 25. They found 73 bundles of marijuana mixed within crates of pumpkins and chili peppers. The driver was arrested and transported to the Nogales Station for processing. The drugs, worth an estimated $851,500, will be held for evidence.
CBP Seattle will host a trade fair on July 19, beginning at 9 a.m., it said in a trade information notice. CBP has invited government agencies that regulation trade to participate, it said. There's no registration necessary, though IDs will be required, said a CBP Seattle source.
CBP's interim rule on disclosure of information to intellectual property (IP) rights holders should give importers additional protections to deal with the realities of "the parallel import market," said the American Free Trade Association (AFTA) in comments to the CBP. CBP asked for comments on an interim rule for disclosing information appearing on merchandise to help CBP in determining whether the merchandise bears a counterfeit mark. "The need for balance is clear; where the goods prove to be genuine, the mark owners receiving the information who are not involved [in] the transaction may very well be competitors of those who are," said AFTA.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection extended the comments period by 30 days to July 27 on an existing information collection on lien notices for freight. CBP is proposing to extend this information collection with a change to the burden hours or information collected. The notice was in the June 27 Federal Register.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released its June 27 Customs Bulletin. While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does list recent general notices and Court of International Trade decisions.
The Senate on June 26 passed the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act, (S-3187), which reauthorizes for five years Food and Drug Administration (FDA) user fees for FDA drug review processes. The legislation would direct the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to work with CBP to develop "regulations to establish good importer practices that specify the measures an importer shall take to ensure imported drugs are in compliance with the requirements of this Act." The legislation, which was approved by the Senate by a vote of 92 to 4, now goes to President Obama for his signature.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) voiced concern with delay in the screening of all in-bound cargo containers in a June 27 Op-Ed in TheNew York Times. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently confirmed it would delay the effective date for 100-percent scanning of incoming maritime cargo containers for at least two years beyond the original 2012 deadline. DHS didn't respond to a request for comment on the Op-Ed.