Final regulations on drawback under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act are now being developed to meet the court-ordered Dec. 18 deadline for those rules (see 1810120055), said Emily Simon, a lawyer with CBP who spoke during an Oct. 31 conference call about drawback. CBP received comments on its proposed rules in September (see 1809190005). "We have indeed reviewed those in depth as part of the adjudication process" and CBP and Treasury have been "working extensively to prepare that final rule, which is in process right now," Simon said.
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.
CBP correctly based liquidations of merchandise upon the price paid by the U.S. customer and not the transfer price between a Canadian party and its related importer of record, the agency said in a July 12 ruling. CBP's decision in HQ H285847 followed an application for further review of protest from Group JS International and the company's lawyer at Sandler Travis. The ruling came through the Apparel, Footwear and Textiles Center of Excellence and Expertise.
Gold and silver jewelry produced in Turkey is eligible for Generalized System of Preferences benefits because the goods went through a double transformation within the country, CBP said in an Aug. 7 ruling. Arpas International, represented by Cowan Liebowitz, requested a further review of protest on the entry. GSP eligibility was questioned upon entry due to documentation sufficiency issues, CBP said.
The Treasury Department published its fall 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes one new rulemaking involving the Craft Beverage Modernization Act. The agency will try to issue an interim final rule by December this year that "eliminates a restriction pertaining to CBP’s authority to refund excessive duties, taxes, fees, or interest imposed on distilled spirits, wine, and beer," it said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its fall 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes a new mention of a proposed rulemaking involving Privacy Act exemptions for some information collected through the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT). "In this proposed rulemaking, the Department proposes to exempt portions of the system of records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements," CBP said. The agency is aiming to issue the proposal in February, it said.
A mix of sunflower seeds, cranberries, pumpkin seeds and tamari sauce imported from Canada does not qualify as a NAFTA originating good because the raw sunflower seeds come from China, CBP said in a July 31 ruling. The ruling, HQ H286682, was requested by NaturSource after the CBP Agriculture and Prepared Products Center of Excellence and Expertise began a NAFTA verification claim. The classification of the product in subheading 2008.19.85 as "fruit, nuts and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved" wasn't disputed, CBP said. The cranberries in the mixture, which is meant to be put on salads, originate in Canada, while the sunflower and pumpkin seeds come from China.
Steel tubing made in the U.S. that is sent to Mexico for painting and other treatments and then returned to the U.S is not subject to the Section 232 tariffs, CBP said in a July 31 ruling. The ruling, NY N298549, was requested by customs broker Alex Romero on behalf of Merchant Metals. The request focused on "the country of origin of steel tubing/pipe for use as fence posts in ornamental fence panels," CBP said.
A toolset that is classifiable under a subheading not covered by the Section 301 tariffs is still subject to those tariffs because one of the components is subject to the tariffs, CBP said in a Sept. 6 ruling, HQ H299857. CBP's ruling followed a request for reconsideration of a ruling on the toolset at issue. Marilyn-Joy Cerny of Sandler Travis filed the reconsideration request and argued that the initial ruling "improperly extended the Section 301 measures to sets classified in subheading 8206.00.00," CBP said.
Finished motors assembled in Mexico from three components from China are classifiable in subheading 8501.10.4060 and subject to the 25 percent tariffs under Section 301, CBP said in a Sept. 13 ruling modification. CBP reached the same conclusion as in the ruling being modified, NY N299096, but said that ruling was "incorrect as to the application of the NAFTA Marking Rules and the country of origin of the product." The original ruling request came from Johnson Electric in July, CBP said.
Merchandise imported in bulk and then stored in a foreign-trade zone prior to sale is not eligible for the Section 321 exemptions when the goods are withdrawn upon consumer sales, CBP said in a Sept. 18 ruling. CBP's ruling, HQ H282601, was in response to a ruling request from Sandler Travis lawyer Robert DeCamp on behalf of the American Apparel and Footwear Association. CBP's analysis in this ruling is similar to another ruling on de minimis shipments and FTZs (see 1807180022). There are efforts underway to change the treatment of such goods, on Capitol Hill (see 1808150007) and in CBP's regulations through the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (see 1810040019).