Tim Warren

An increase to the de minimis threshold, the first of likely many changes to CBP's regulations due to the customs reauthorization law (see 1602260049), is expected to be a relatively easy update, said Mike Mullen, executive director of the Express Association of America. Mullen is involved in ongoing discussions between industry and CBP on the changes, which are targeted for implementation by March 10, he said during an interview on March 1. Mullen has long pushed for changes to de minimis on behalf of the group's members, which include UPS and FedEx.

CBP plans to address illegal steel imports from China through some "enhanced enforcement measures," the White House said in a report that touted the Obama Administration record on trade enforcement (here). The White House released the report in conjunction with President Barack Obama's signing of customs reauthorization legislation on Feb. 24 (see 1602240042). Among other efforts, CBP will require live entry for high risk steel shipments, meaning "all entry documents and duties" are to be "provided before cargo is released by CBP into U.S. commerce," said the White House.

The new processes for antidumping and countervailing duty evasion investigations and intellectual property rights protections are likely to be some of the first items addressed by the CBP once customs reauthorization legislation is signed by President Obama, said Alice Kipel, CBP's new executive director of regulations and rulings (ORR), during a Feb. 23 interview. Only about two months into her new job (see 1602120034), Kipel already faces the daunting task of prioritizing some of the biggest changes in the agency's long history. In addition to implementation to the customs bill, Kipel will help oversee the regulatory process for Automated Commercial Environment rules as well as look to improve speeds on customs rulings responses, she said.

A lack of information regarding the profitability of a U.S. crop protection chemicals distributor versus its competitors means the use of transaction value is unavailable for appraisement of sales between the company and related suppliers, CBP said in a Nov. 25 ruling (here). The internal advice ruling is in response to pushback from the company, Makhteshim Agan of North America (MANA), related to a 2013 Focused Assessment that MANA disagreed with. The company was unable to prove through the use of "test values," that transaction value would be the correct appraisement method, said CBP.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is drafting a "formal clarification" to spell out exemptions to Lacey Act declaration requirements for plant products entered from Foreign Trade Zones, an APHIS spokeswoman said in an email. There's been confusion over several years as to whether an exemption to the requirements applies to type 06 entries. With the move toward the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency plans to bring type 06 entries "into the fold of the Lacey Act declaration requirement," APHIS's Parul Patel, senior agriculturalist, Imports, Regulations, and Manuals, said at a National Association of Foreign Trade Zones conference on Feb. 9.

CBP granted a further review of a protest filed by Jowett Garments Factory and Joy Textile after the companies provided translated documentation to prove eligibility for NAFTA treatment, the agency said in a Nov. 25 ruling (here). The companies filed the further review after the Port of Nogales, Arizona denied NAFTA treatment for imports of polyester fabrics in 2012. That denial came after the companies submitted "incomprehensible and contradictory" information that "failed to establish conclusive evidence that the products qualified for preferential tariff treatment," said CBP.

There's growing uncertainty over the ports' ability to handle coming container weight verification rules, said Fitch Ratings in a news release (here). The regulations could slow trade processing, the ratings company said. "Fitch-rated ports have neither designated facilities for weighing containers nor the systems for the verification of container weights," Fitch said. "This could raise already chronic congestion at the ports that are slowed by chassis management issues, higher cargo loads from larger vessels and inadequate inland or intermodal links." The new rules, set to take effect July 1, are the result of an International Maritime Organization amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) agreement.

Filing electronic data for Participating Government Agencies will likely become mandatory within the Automated Commercial Environment following the completion of individual pilots, said Maria Luisa Boyce, CBP’s senior advisor for trade engagement while speaking at a National Association of Foreign Trade Zones conference on Feb. 9. The use of the term "pilot" has been the source of some confusion and a lack of participation within ACE is among issues that lead to another delay to CBP's timelines for ACE (see 1602080042). CBP also posted a new version of its ACE Entry Summary Business Process document that reflects the new timeline (here).

CBP again adjusted its transition timeline for the Automated Commercial Environment following new concerns over the government's readiness to move from the Automated Commercial System, said CBP Feb. 8 (here). "While significant progress has been made, continued concerns about stakeholder readiness have necessitated an updated timeline for the mandatory transition to ACE for electronic entry and entry summary filing," said CBP. The shift marks the second major change to its schedule due to readiness uncertainty (see 1509010017).

CBP consideration of the "Chop Chop" food preparation device differs from past CBP rulings on similar devices due to the "mechanical action" involved, the agency said in ruling HQ H266149 on Oct. 21 (here). C.H. Robinson Freight Services filed an application for further review of a protest on behalf of the Home Shopping Network, the exclusive seller of food chopper, related to an entry in 2014. C.H. Robinson objected to CBP's eventual liquidation of the entry under subheading 8210.00.0000, which covers "Hand-operated mechanical appliances."