Tim Warren

A U.S. producer of titanium sponge is using the Section 232 petition process as a way around a previous International Trade Commission finding, Japan said in comments in response to the petition. The Section 232 petition, filed by TIMET, asked the Commerce Department to get Japan to agree to a reference price 30 percent or more above current prices (see 1904100032). "Section 232 of Trade Expansion Act should not be used to justify circumvention of anti-dumping rules or disguised protectionism policy," Japan said. Nearly all of the filings have so far have opposed TIMET's request.

SAN ANTONIO -- CBP is looking at using "prescriptive analytics" as a way of making the rulings process faster, said Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner-trade, at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference on April 17. Such analytics involve a review of the data that "puts out a couple of options for action," she said. While "we don't want a machine doing classification," CBP would like to use technology to improve efficiency on rulings, she said.

SAN ANTONIO -- CBP is already testing multiple suggestions put forth as part of the agency's effort to update its framework, said Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner-trade, on April 17 at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. For example, the agency is "investing in cognitive analytics to protect U.S. business from unfair or illicit trade through more effective risk assessment and targeting," she said. CBP is also working at "providing better data out of ACE," she said.

SAN ANTONIO -- CBP is hoping to publish a rule on the testing of the new Entry Type 86 for low value shipments in the fall, said Thomas Overacker, CBP executive director, Cargo and Conveyance Security, on April 17 at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. The Entry Type 86 is meant as a means to provide information to the Partner Government Agencies on goods that are eligible for the Section 321 exemptions. "This data will also give us an opportunity for great risk segmentation," he said.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A lawsuit challenging the new CBP drawback regulations that limit drawback on goods subject to excise taxes (see 1812190011) is expected soon, Sandler Travis lawyer Michael Cerny said on a panel at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference on April 16. CBP is saying "the export of excise-tax-free goods is considered a drawback, therefore you can't get a second drawback of that through substitution," Cerny said. "This is going to be challenged," and he said he expects a lawsuit within "the next few weeks." The excise tax changes became effective on Feb. 19, 2019.

United Arab Emirates cannot be shortened to U.A.E. or Emirates for country of origin marking purposes, CBP said in a Feb. 28 ruling. CBP's ruling came in response to a request from Arnold & Porter lawyer Michael Shor who inquired about the marking requirements on behalf of Central National Gottesman. CBP denied the requested use of the abbreviated versions because the country is not sufficiently known under those names, the agency said.

CBP plans to start moving officers from the Northern Border and seaports to help deal with the influx of migrants at the Southern Border, the agency said during an April 11 call. "The current plans call for pulling agents from airports starting April 14 as replacements for officers concluding their 30-day shifts," according to a National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America description of remarks by CBP officials. "On April 28, the agency intends to pull replacements from the Northern Border, as well. If a third wave of replacements is needed in May, the agency will tap ocean ports for officers to fill in for the 545 officers on duty. Assuming the manpower needs remain constant, the plan calls for pulling 245 officers from the Southern Border and 300 officers from other locations," the NCBFAA said.

The widespread use of Electronic Cargo Security Devices (eCSDs) would create many new benefits to both private industry and the border enforcement agencies, logistics company Expeditors International said in April 11 comments in CBP's docket on creating a 21st Century Customs Framework. "Trade interests and Customs interests both would be well served if the same trade facilitation benefits currently given to CSDs were afforded to eCSDs," Expeditors said. Such devices would be one way to improve trade security within the e-commerce supply chain, the company said.

Allowing CBP's updated Form 5106 section on company information to be "optional" seems to make for an insufficient implementation measure under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, the Southern Shrimp Alliance said in April 11 comments. "The Southern Shrimp Alliance believes that, in order to be effective, CBP must communicate out to the trade that, while ostensibly optional, an importer’s decision as to whether to provide responses to Section 3 will have a significant impact on the way in which the agency assesses the risk presented by the importer," the group said.

Severe congestion at the El Paso, Texas, Port of Entry is pushing some traffic to other ports and creating additional delays, C.H. Robinson said an April 8 update. The ports of both Nogales in Arizona and Laredo in Texas are seeing traffic that was diverted from El Paso, the company said. Transportation rates are also growing due to limited truckload availability and increased driver wait times, it said. "Overall, we are seeing a trend of fewer inspections lanes being staffed at the same time volumes appear to be increasing as shippers fear a potential border closure for freight," the company said.