Tim Warren

CANCUN, Mexico -- New reporting requirements in the customs reauthorization law aren't expected to hamper efforts to align CBP's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program with Authorized Economic Operator programs, said Rich DiNucci, executive director, Cargo and Conveyance Security, at CBP. The law requires CBP to consult with the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees before beginning negotiations or entering Mutual Recognition Arrangements (see 1602170074). DiNucci discussed the issue on May 11 during the World Customs Organization's AEO Conference.

CBP and the Treasury Department are working together to look at how recent statutory changes to the merchandise processing fee affect changes to the MPF required by trade agreement, said CBP in a presentation on the issue. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, signed into law late last year (see 1512070011), required the MPF to move along with the Consumer Price Index. Meanwhile, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and CBP are briefing Congressional committees and industry members on the planned MPF changes, which are necessary to align with Trans Pacific Partnership provisions (see 1603090030).

Having two separate processes to soften and calibrate iron shells used in mining means the shells are ineligible for classification as "cast articles of iron," CBP said in a Dec. 9 ruling (here). The application for further review of a protest came from VS Guss, which disagreed with CBP's classification decisions on entries of iron shells and spherical washer castings in 2011. The importer argued that the processing of the goods after casting was "incidental" and thus classifiable under heading 7325, which excludes additionally processed goods.

Multiple members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) voted against two recommendations related to a customs broker regulations update. The two controversial recommendations involved recordkeeping and where brokers may conduct customs business. Those recommendations were ultimately approved on April 27 by the full COAC alongside more than 30 recommendations produced by the broker regulations working group (see 1604250011). Most COAC recommendations are approved unanimously.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The head of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee broker regulations working group previewed more than 30 recommendations that are set to be considered at the April 27 COAC meeting. Cindy Allen, the leader of the working group and CEO of Trade Force Multiplier, discussed the recommendations during a panel at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference on April 20. Already OK'd by the Trade Modernization subcommittee, the recommendations must still be approved by the full COAC before they are finalized and given to CBP, she said. As a result, there's a chance that some of the language could still change, Allen said.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The customs reauthorization law makes for an "exciting and perhaps challenging" time for customs brokers, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said during a speech at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference on April 20. He pointed to new requirements that brokers collect information on new and foreign importers and CBP's ability to revoke licenses due to terrorist involvement, as well as other pieces that will have the biggest effect on brokers. Kerlikowske was scheduled to testify on the new law for a Senate Finance Committee hearing scheduled for April 20, but it may be postponed so Kerlikowske can attend the funeral of a recently killed border agent, he said.

The sale between a Canadian apparel company and the U.S. customers, and not the company's American subsidiary, represents the bona fide sale for customs purposes, CBP said in a Jan. 6 ruling (here). Do-Gree Fashions USA (DG USA), a wholly-owned subsidiary to Do-Gree Fashions (DG Canada), requested a further review of protest after CBP rejected the subsidiary's use of the intercompany price upon import. The company also asserted that even if a bona fide sale didn't occur between the related companies, the sale to the consumer should not be used for valuation purposes.

CBP and ICE released statistics on their fiscal year 2015 intellectual property rights seizures (here). The statistics show that the number of seizures were up from FY 2014 (see 1504030019), as was the total manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of the seized goods, said CBP in a press release (here). The number of IPR seizures grew by 25 percent to 28,865 in FY 2015 from 23,140 in FY 2014. The MSRP of these seizures was up from $1.2 billion in FY 2014 to $1.3 billion in FY 2015.

The determining factor for classifying hydraulic connectors should be based on the specific use of the connector, Brennan Industries said in comments to CBP on April 11 (here). Brennan's comments were in response to a CBP request for public comment on a reclassification petition filed by the same company (see 1602080030). CBP's reliance on a previous ruling to classify the hydraulic connectors "wholly ignores the end use of the products," said Brennan. CBP regulations allow for domestic manufacturers to challenge CBP decisions on imports of merchandise similar to that sold by the domestic party.

Paper imported into the U.S. shouldn't be appraised based on the price between the purchaser and related manufacturer, CBP told DHL Global Forwarding in response to a prospective ruling request (here). DHL sought the ruling for its client, April Fine Paper Trade, Hong Kong, regarding AFP Hong Kong's possible role in several transactions. The agency also ruled against the proposed use of a sale between unrelated parties in Indonesia as proof of an "arm's length" transaction.