Tim Warren

Diamond Tools Technology is being investigated by CBP over allegations that the company evaded antidumping duties on diamond sawblades from China, the Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers' Coalition said (here). The DSMC and its law firm Wiley Rein filed the allegations under CBP's new evasion enforcement processes (see 1608190014), and CBP began a preliminary investigation in March, the DSMC said. "Following its preliminary investigation, which included a site visit, there is a 'reasonable suspicion' that DTT imported into the United States merchandise subject to the AD order on diamond sawblades from China through evasion," said the trade group, which is made up of U.S. manufacturers. "As a result, CBP has determined that interim measures are warranted."

CBP is expected to provide additional information soon about the delay to the deployment of post-release capabilities in ACE (see 1706270049), Stuart Schmidt, compliance manager at UPS Supply Chain Solutions, said during a June 27 webinar. "We do not know the new date yet," Schmidt said. "My understanding is that there will be a Federal Register notice that will be published hopefully Friday announcing more information about this." Stuart said the delay is the result of some problems with "false positives" found while testing. "They elected to delay the deployment rather than deploy and install some quick fixes," he said. "So they felt that was the right thing to do and I think I agree with that decision." CBP didn't comment.

A foreign-trade zone (FTZ) operator retains the responsibility for maintaining information necessary to prove the status of merchandise coming in and out of an FTZ, CBP said in a April 3 ruling (here). CBP ruled on the issue in response to an internal advice request from Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), an FTZ operator, and a memorandum from the Petroleum Center of Excellence and Expertise. LOOP sought CBP input related to the difficulty of "obtaining entry documents for crude oil imported to the United States due to the multiple shipment and sales transactions that occur before the crude oil reaches" the FTZ, it said.

An importer of bearings from China must individually mark the country of origin onto the bearings, rather than the packaging, CBP said in a April 5 ruling (here). While the importer, Tex Star Bearings, asserted that individual marking "is neither legally required nor commercially feasible," CBP disagreed. The agency found that the company didn't sufficiently prove that the bearings fall within an exception to marking rules because of some question as to whether the goods would reach the ultimate purchaser unopened. CBP's ruling came in response to a request for internal advice from the Port of Houston.

A portable chair booster that raises the legs of a chair can be classified as an article of plastic, rather than as furniture, CBP said in a May 9 ruling (here). CBP disagreed with the importer that the product, called the Kaboost Chair Booster, should be classified as furniture. Kaboost, the importer, asked CBP to reconsider a 2008 ruling on the booster, which found the product to be classifiable as articles of plastics.

CBP withdrew its revised Form 5106 from review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on May 8, according to the OIRA website (here). CBP officials recently said the agency would need to reassess the updates (see 1704040086), given a number of major changes that occurred since the form was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget about a year ago (see 1607130026). The updated form is considered a necessary step toward an importer of record database as required in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (see 1612020008)

An Italian radial ball bearing exporter that changed its name can't use a company-specific antidumping duty rate because the company didn't go through a successor-in-interest review with the Commerce Department, CBP said in a March 21 ruling (here). Avio, a U.S. company that purchased ball bearings from its parent company Avio S.p.A in Italy, challenged CBP's AD rate assessment and requested reliquidation in 2012 over some 2009 and 2010 entries. Those entries received an "all-others" rate of 69.98 percent due to an AD order on ball bearings from Italy. FiatAvio, the predecessor to Avio, received a final reseller rate of 3.13 percent in 1992.

Funding is a major and now even more complex concern within the Border Interagency Executive Committee discussions, BIEC members said while speaking at the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 24. "This is the real work, I think, now that we've gotten to the other side of the single window," said Cynthia Whittenburg, deputy executive assistant commissioner at CBP’s Office of International Trade. Adding to the already complicated work in the BIEC, the partner government agencies (PGAs) also now need to consider the effects on other parts of the overall system, said Agriculture Department international issues analyst Robert Berczik of the Food Safety and Inspection Service. "Now it's not simply" making process changes, "you've got to really think through, 'OK, well now what's the domino effect?' and 'Where does this impact everything else that's been developed and is in place down the line?'"

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- CBP is looking at a wide range of options for meeting the goals of the March executive order (see 1704030033) meant to resolve issues of unpaid antidumping and countervailing duties, said Troy Riley, executive director-Commercial Targeting and Enforcement in the CBP Office of Trade. Riley, who is leading implementation of the executive order, discussed several things being considered, including suspending importer of record numbers that haven't been used in years and new bonding schemes, during a panel on May 24 at the West Coast Trade Symposium. Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner for the CBP Office of Trade, alluded to the likelihood of additional orders along the same lines. "My guess is we have not seen the end of" trade-focused executive orders, said Smith, who moderated the panel.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Enhanced trade enforcement provisions, the ability to collaborate on trade facilitation issues and “modernized rules of origin” are among issues CBP would like to see included in NAFTA negotiations, Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said during the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 24. “There's a lot of ways CBP can contribute to that dialogue,” he said. “The way this is unfolding with the importance and access being placed on CBP, I think we'll have that opportunity.” McAleenan also said the timing for the final deployment of ACE should be "announced pretty soon."