The International Sugar Trade Coalition voiced approval May 28, 2012 for the Farm Bill (S-3240), recently passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee, for giving sugar producers in developing nations a guaranteed level of access to the U.S. sugar market at fair predictable prices. The ISTC wrote to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Pat Roberts (D-Minn.) to express its support for the Farm Bill, which would extend the current sugar policy through 2017.
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a CSMS message announcing the issuance of Harmonized System Update 1206 on changes to the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). This update contains 13,572 ABI records and 2,681 harmonized tariff records.
Michele Woods, associate register for policy and international affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office, is leaving to join the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as director of the Copyright Law Division for the Culture and Creative Industries Sector.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it is aware that ABI filers are receiving "Docs Req'd" messages on entry summaries that normally would get a "paperless" response. CBP said it is working on the issue.
Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) urged members of the transportation reauthorization conference committees to include "Buy America" provisions within the Senate-passed bill (S 1813). A 47-member conference committee is working to iron out differences in Senate and House legislation that would reauthorize federal-aid programs for highways.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced May 25 that it is planning a number of Webinars during the summer of 2012 to solicit comment and input on all facets of the customs broker regulations (19 CFR Part 111). This is part of CBP’s Role of the Broker Initiative, meant to update the relationship between the customs broker and CBP.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the next Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting is scheduled for Seattle Aug. 15.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a spreadsheet showing active AD/CVD cases and the associated case numbers, ISO country codes, tariff numbers, and short descriptions of each case as of May 15, 2012 . This information alone should not be relied upon in determining whether an AD/CVD case is currently active, or whether merchandise falls under the scope of AD/CVD order, said CBP. For current AD/CVD information, consult ACE, Department of Commerce Federal Register Notices, and ADDCVD Search on CBP.gov, said CBP.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was last updated May 24, 2012 with 405 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 171,418. The most recent ruling is dated 5/22/2012 12:00:00 AM.