Tim Warren

ATLANTA -- An initiative to allow foreign-trade zones to take part in e-commerce distribution is in the early stages after CBP ruled that the role of FTZs is limited, said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, during a panel discussion at the CBP 2018 Trade Symposium on Aug. 14. "We have had discussions with key folks out there at both the Hill and from the various associations where there's a lot of discussion going on about what that really means and what the path forward is for potentially" allowing FTZs to "participate in this." CBP recently ruled that the Section 321 entry exemptions do not apply to bulk shipments sent to FTZs that are broken up for individual consumption entries below the $800 de minimis level prior to a consumer order (see 1807180022).

The mixing of quinoa from Bolivia with rice and lentils in the U.S. does not result in a substantial transformation, CBP said in a recently released ruling. J.M. Smucker asked CBP for a ruling on country of origin marking requirements for a multigrain herb pilaf. CBP said in the June 29 ruling (HQ H262295) that the pilaf must be marked to indicate that the quinoa is a product of Bolivia.

CBP shouldn't require Air Cargo Advance Screening filings for each cargo loading for flights to the U.S., the Express Association of America and Cargo Airline Association said in joint comments filed in response to the ACAS interim rule that took effect in June (see 1806110043). The groups said CBP should remove a footnote that requires ACAS data filings "for the cargo loaded on each leg of the flight prior to loading of that cargo." Comments are due Aug. 13.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service are planning to use a "certificate of admissibility" to comply with a court order to ban fish and fish products from Mexican fisheries that use gillnets near the endangered vaquita porpoises, the government said in an Aug. 3 filing. The Justice Department said there are "certain implementation challenges" due to the inclusion of two species of fish that are to be banned within the basket of provisions of a Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading that also include other species. A Court of International Trade judge recently approved a preliminary injunction (see 1807260039) that said the government must "ban the importation of all fish and fish products from Mexican commercial fisheries that use gillnets within the vaquita’s range."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 6 affirmed a lower court ruling on the classification of battery-powered candles in heading 9405 as lamps and lighting fittings. CAFC largely agreed with the Court of International Trade's finding in a Gerson Company challenge to CBP's classification of the candles after liquidation in heading 9405 with a 3.9 percent duty rate during 2009 and 2010 (see 1708030011). Gerson appealed CIT's ruling over what the company said were errors in the court's analysis.

CBP won't enforce parts of the agency's in-bond requirements until Feb. 6, it said in a Aug. 1 CSMS message. CBP previously planned to begin enforcement on Aug. 6 (see 1801050018). The delay is due to "issues identified with electronic communication for intermodal movement of cargo and other operational issues," CBP said. CBP will continue to stamp or perforate CBP Forms 7512 to verify exportation upon requests from a carrier "until further notice," it said.

Needle electrodes from the U.S. or Japan that are sent to China for further processing remain products of the U.S. or Japan, CBP said in a ruling. Rhythmlink International, a manufacturer and distributor of medical devices, requested a final determination from CBP on the country of origin. Specifically, the company asked about "a Subdermal Needle Electrode," which is classified by the Food and Drug Administration as “a device which is placed subcutaneously to stimulate or to record electrical signals.”

The Court of International Trade should still force the government to issue an interim final rule on drawback calculations even though CBP released its proposed drawback regulations under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act on July 27 (see 1807270024), drawback filers and importers said in a filing that same day. "This Court can and should compel the required agency action by directing defendants to publish the required calculation regulation, and any other portion of the regulations required to make it effective, as an interim final rule, with immediate effect. (Alternatively, the Court can simply declare all of the [notice of proposed rulemaking] to be in force as an IFR,)" the companies said in the filing.

CBP posted its proposed rulemaking on drawback regulations under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. The 444 pages of proposed rules are scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Aug. 2, with comments due 45 days after that. Among the contentious issues involved was how the rules would treat distilled spirits in terms of substitution drawback (see 1708090043).

Roanoke Trade has seen a recent increase in the number of CBP notices mandating increased customs bond amounts, Patrice Lafayette, assistant vice president-client services at Roanoke, said during a July 25 webinar. "On average we normally see anywhere from 30 to 60 mandated increases issued on a monthly basis, but I can tell you that since the new tariffs have come out, this number practically tripled ... in June," she said. CBP has been expected to start taking a more aggressive stance on bond sufficiency as new tariffs take effect (see 1807020017).