Tim Warren

According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection CSMS notice, the Food and Drug Administration asked that Import Trade Auxiliary Communication System (ITACS) users submit only standard entry documentation (CF3461, Invoice, Packing List, etc.) through ITACS at this time. Compliance documentation such as private lab submissions, reconditioning proposals, extension requests and copies of labeling should continue to be submitted through traditional means until we can resolve a document retrieval issue on our side.

The U.S. government is working with the Mexican government to improve difficulties related to the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) audits of goods exported to Mexico, said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis speaking at the U.S. Export-Import Bank conference in Washington. The U.S. government is engaged with the Mexican government to make the export process less onerous and prohibitive than it has been, said Marantis. A questioner in the audience described the audits as a non-tariff trade barrier.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported two incidents that occurred in ACE Production on the morning of April 13, 2012

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Document Image System (DIS) implementation guide provides a full list of documents that are planned to be supported by DIS, said CBP sources. The implementation guide list differs from the list provided as part of Federal Register notice announcing the first phase of DIS testing. The documents listed within the Federal Register notice are only the documents supported within that first phase, said the CBP sources. CBP will be publishing additional Federal Register Notices that will announce the next series of documents that will be made available when ready to receive those forms.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) will receive a staff briefing and status report on a notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier Negotiated Rate Arrangements and Tariff Filing Exemption, according to a notice scheduled to be run in the Federal Register April 13, 2012. The briefing is scheduled as part of the FMC's April 18, 2012 open meeting.

Ricardo Perez, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee since 2003, will serve as CBP port director for Hannah, N.D. The Hannah port is one of 67 ports of entry within the CBP Seattle Field Office

Kelly Herman, senior attorney advisor at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, joined Venable as of counsel in the firm's International Trade Practice.

The Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the February 2012 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services Report April 12, 2012. The report showed February exports of $181.2 billion and imports of $227.2 billion, leaving a goods and services deficit of $46 billion, up $0.6 billion from February 2011. The report shows that February exports were $0.2 billion more and February imports were $6.3 billion less than January levels. Exports of services increased $0.8 and imports of services increased $0.2 billion. However, from February 2011 to February 2012, imports were up 7.6% and exports were up 9.3%.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized a total of $1.3 billion worth of cocaine in a week. The Office of Air and Marine (OAM) P-3s operating out of National Air Security Operations Centers in Jacksonville, Fla. (NASOC-JAX) and Corpus Christi, Texas (NASOC-CC), assisted in the interdiction of a Self Propelled Semi-Submersible (SPSS) carrying close to 14,000 pounds of cocaine, and two go-fast vessels carrying more than 4,400 pounds of cocaine with a combined value of more than $1.3 billion.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted an updated version of its spreadsheet of ACE ESAR A2.2 (Initial Entry Types) programming issues.