RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- CBP is working on a standardized process for customs brokers to vet their importer clients' powers of attorney, said Julia Peterson, chief of CBP's broker management branch, at the Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON) on Oct. 13. Every importer will be required to provide the same information, and every broker required to vet the same information, which should “level the playing field” and diminish or eliminate “broker shopping,” Peterson said.
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
Sterling Footwear is liable for gross negligence related to unpaid customs duties due to misclassification on hundreds of footwear entries, the Court of International Trade ruled in a Oct. 12 decision. CIT Judge Mark Barnett specifically avoided a decision on the liability of Sterling's CEO and majority shareholder, Alex Ng. The Justice Department sought a summary judgment on Ng's culpability but because some of the facts involved remain in dispute, Barnett didn't decide that issue.
The U.S., Canada and Mexico have agreed in principle to NAFTA language that would forbid countries from requiring paper certificates of origin to qualify for NAFTA treatment, and Canada and Mexico are now considering increasing their de minimis levels closer to the U.S.’s $800 level, according to lobbyists close to negotiations. The NAFTA parties easily agreed to language to eliminate the use of paper documents in any customs processes that currently call for such credentials, including paper certificates of origin, said a lobbyist who is a cleared adviser for NAFTA negotiations. The countries hope that this will help drive a shared goal to modernize trade facilitation and everyday customs procedures across North America, he said. Parties are conducting the fourth round of NAFTA renegotiations Oct. 11-17 in Arlington, Virginia.
A domestic manufacturer and a labor union filed a petition on Oct. 5 with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on forged steel fittings from China, Italy and Taiwan, and new countervailing duties on forged steel fittings from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on forged steel fittings that could eventually result in the assessment of AD/CV duties. The petition was filed by Bonney Forge Corporation and the United Steelworkers Union.
An iPhone case that includes a separate screen that shows information from the phone sent through a Bluetooth connection isn't classified based on the Bluetooth capability, CBP said in an Aug. 3 ruling. The ruling, HQ H275685, came in response to an internal advice request from a customs broker for the maker of the phone case, popSLATE Media. The request went through CBP's Electronics Center of Excellence and Expertise, it said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 2-6 in case they were missed.
Irregularities on a single transaction bond issued to cover antidumping duties on Chinese garlic don’t mean the surety doesn’t have to pay out to CBP, the Court of International Trade said in an Oct. 5 decision. Handwritten changes to the bond after it was signed, in apparent violation of CBP’s regulations, don’t invalidate the bond, CIT said. And despite lengthy delays before the underlying entry was liquidated, the government’s lawsuit to collect was not filed too late, it said.
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
With CBP regulations on new drawback procedures still not issued, software developers are growing concerned about whether they will be ready for the new system’s upcoming deployment in ACE. CBP has pledged to have capabilities in place for the new Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act drawback provisions on Feb. 24, but though the agency has found funding and begun its own programming efforts, software developers have been unable to start coding, leaving little time for testing before the deadline, several developers said in interviews.
The European Commission launched a new electronic system for the EU "to make it easier for businesses to get permission to import goods," the EC said in a notice. The Customs Decisions System "will allow traders to handle up to 22 different types of customs applications online," it said. "The CDS is an essential instrument to enable the processing and management of applications and decisions with a Union-wide validity," the EC said in a more detailed post about the system. "The authorisations, when granted, will provide Economic Operators with simplifications to conduct their business across the EU." There's a wide range of decisions that can be addressed in the CDS, including "the deferment of payment of customs duties, administrative simplifications, customs classification of imported products, and more," the EC said in a user guide.