U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued its May 16, 2012 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 21), which contains 15 notices of ruling actions. A May 16, 2012 ITT article incorrectly said there were no ruling actions in the bulletin. The ruling actions are as follows:
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.
Brigida Benitez joined Steptoe & Johnson as a partner in the International Regulation & Compliance and Commercial Litigation practice in the Washington office, the firm said. Benitez most recently was chief of the Office of Institutional Integrity of the Inter-American Development Bank.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, effective immediately, all drawback claims involving goods exported to Chile must be submitted separately from all other types of drawback claims. As a result of the U.S. -- Chilean Free Trade Agreement, drawback claims made on goods exported to Chile after January 1, 2012 are subject to special treatment as described in 19 U.S.C. 1313(j)(4)(B) and 1313(n). This includes a possible reduction in drawback refunds for certain claims. The paper submission of the claim should be marked “Chile FTA” in conspicuous letters on the top of the first page.
The Senate approved a bill May 15 to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The bipartisan legislation would increase the bank's lending limit to $140 billion by 2014. The text of the legislation is (here). The Senate approval sends the bill to President Obama for his signature, who is expected to sign it into law. The legislation would reauthorize the bank's charter, which expires on May 31, 2012, and increase the lending cap of the bank. The Ex-Im bank was expected to hit that lending limit by the end of May. The bill also begins the process of reducing export subsidies for aircraft, addressing a major complaint from airlines that disagreed with the practice.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a May 14 version of its CF 1400 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Entrances) electronic query report of the Vessel Management System (VMS), in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by entrances. CBP also posted a version of its CF 1401 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Clearances) electronic query report of the VMS, in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by clearances.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the ACS (EI) and ACE (AE) systems are now automated to accept Colombia TPA claims (here).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection must be aware of the limits of what customs brokers can provide to CBP, though there are several ways brokers can work with CBP to further the importing process, according to written testimony from Darrell Sekin, president of the National Customs Brokers and Forwards Association of America. Sekin is scheduled to testify May 17 before the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee during a hearing on Supporting Economic Growth and Job Creation through Customs Trade Modernization, Facilitation, and Enforcement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has clarified that protests may be submitted for Generalized System of Preference (i) entries that were filed with the special program indicator (SPI) “A” at entry summary but for which the automated scripting failed to liquidate the entry with a refund, and (ii) entries for which a refund was requested retroactively but were denied in error.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) hailed the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement’s (FTA) entry into force, which is scheduled to take effect May 15, 2012 and will phase-out Colombian tariffs on American manufactured and agricultural goods. The trade agreement with Colombia will boost U.S. exports by more than $1 billion and help U.S. exporters regain market share that has been lost to countries that have already signed FTAs with Colombia, said Baucus in a press release. “Colombia is dropping tariffs on our manufactured and agricultural goods, and that means the door is opening for American workers and businesses to grow,” Baucus said. “This a major economic win that levels the playing field for American workers and businesses. Colombia’s economy is growing quickly, and it’s a lucrative market for the world-class products made here in the U.S. This trade deal is worth a billion dollars in new U.S. exports and thousands of new jobs at home, and that’s just the kind of boost our economy needs."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said May 14, 2012 goods of Argentina will lose Generalized System of Preference (GSP) eligibility if entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after May 28, 2012. President Obama issued Presidential Proclamation 8788 (FR 1889, March 29, 2012) suspending Argentina’s GSP eligibility because Argentina had not acted in good faith in enforcing two longstanding arbitral awards.