On October 8, 2004, the House of Representatives passed the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004. According to Congressional sources, the Senate is expected to consider the conference version of H.R. 1047 in mid-November 2004, when it returns after the election.
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.
The Canadian Government has issued a press release announcing that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has reached a tentative collective agreement with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). The press release quotes Minister of National Revenue John McCallum as stating that this is a welcome development and that he is confident that it will bring an end to the strike activities that have been taking place since early September 2004. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/18/04 news, 04101899 1, for BP summary on the strike activities of Canadian public servants.) (CRA press release, dated 10/13/04, available at www.cra-arc.gc.ca/newsroom/releases/2004/oct/1013agreement-e.html )
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that the interest rates for the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2005 (October 1, 2004 - December 31, 2004) for overpayments and underpayments of Customs duties are:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a notice that informs truck carriers of the new advance cargo manifest requirements for inbound truck cargo, which will take effect November 15, 2004 at 40 ports. According to the notice and CBP sources, for these initial 40 ports, as of November 15, 2004, any Border Release Advance Screening and Selectivity (BRASS) shipment that is not being hauled by a FAST registered driver will be denied entry into the U.S. (See ITT's Online Archives or 08/18/04 news, 04081805, for BP summary of CBP's August 17, 2004 notice announcing the staggered compliance dates for the mandatory advance electronic information requirements for inbound truck cargo. See ITT's Online Archives or 09/30/04 news, 04093070, 1, for BP summary of CBP's handout that will be distributed to trucks in the event of noncompliance with these new requirements.) (CBP's notice available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/ctpat/fast/fast_truck_req.ctt/fast_truck_req.doc.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message, which clarifies its earlier instructions on the expiration of a July 12, 1999 "Comprehensive Agreement" between the U.S. and Russian Federation (Russia) on various steel products.
As the House and Senate had previously passed different versions of legislation to repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime, a House-Senate conference was held to resolve the differences. The conference version of H.R. 4520 was passed by the House on October 7, 2004, and by the Senate on October 11, 2004. The conference version of H.R. 4520 has been cleared for the White House, but it has not yet been received.
On June 17, 2004, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act, legislation that would, among other things, repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime, extend the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) and other user fees, etc.. The Senate passed its own version of this legislation, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act (S. 1637), on May 11, 2004.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued instructions for making 2004 retroactive claims for the (in-quota) duty-free tariff rate quotas (TRQs) under HTS 9908 for certain agricultural goods from Israel (certain butter and fresh or sour cream, dried milk, cheese, peanuts, and ice cream).
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has published in the Federal Register its final antidumping (AD) duty determination that certain aluminum plate from South Africa is being, or is likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has made a preliminary affirmative antidumping (AD) duty determination that certain circular welded carbon quality line pipe from China is being, or is likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.