RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- The Census Bureau expects to issue proposed rules for routed export transactions by the fall, said Omari Wooden, assistant division chief, International Trade Management Division at Census. Census is in the process of going through many issues raised by industry in comments to the agency (see 1712070039), Wooden said at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference on May 1. "We are the government, so instead of months, we give you seasons, so probably sometime in the fall we're hopeful to come out with something," he said.
Drawback
A duty drawback is a refund by CBP of the duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods, which were imposed upon importation as prescribed in 19 U.S.C. 1313(d). More broadly, a drawback also includes the refund or remission of other excise taxes pursuant to other provisions of law.
Extended exemptions from Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel left some countries and importers relieved, but others uncertain as to what is around the corner on June 1. Announced the evening of April 30 just hours before the deadline, the proclamations on steel and aluminum announce full, if undefined, exemptions for Argentina, Brazil and Australia, the final details of a steel exemption for South Korea, and a delay until the beginning of June 1 for Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
CBP is unjustifiably holding up regulatory changes for drawback required by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 by including them in a 450-page regulatory package that may take years to wind through the rulemaking process, said several companies challenging CBP’s interim drawback procedures at the Court of International Trade in a recent legal brief. Responding to the government’s motion to dismiss their case, the plaintiffs said part of the reason CBP hasn’t yet issued its new drawback calculation rules is likely because its upcoming Part 190 proposal includes non-urgent, optional conforming regulations that go beyond Congress’ mandate.
President Donald Trump extended exemptions from Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum until June 1 for the European Union, Canada and Mexico. He also announced the U.S. has reached agreements in principle on exemptions from tariffs for Brazil, Argentina and Australia, alongside a final agreement on steel tariffs with South Korea.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 9-13 in case they were missed.
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
The slew of trade remedies "changes everything" for importers, making programs like drawback and foreign-trade zones more valuable to companies that previously didn't need to consider such options, said Amie Ahanchian, KPMG managing director, Trade and Customs Services, during an April 16 KPMG webinar. Of the 1,333 tariff lines on the Section 301 list (see 1804040019), about 60 percent, or around 800 line items, are duty-free today, she said. That means "if you're importing these items, you may not have ever considered a customs planning strategy because there were no duties to mitigate in the current trade environment," she said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP’s proposed regulations on new procedures for drawback under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act are now at the Office of Management and Budget for review, according to the OMB website. The long-awaited rulemaking had been held up for months while the Treasury Department reviewed its provisions (see 1710040050 and 1802020053). OMB says it received the regulatory package on April 6. A recent court challenge seeks to compel CBP to issue the overdue regulations (see 1803260048), which under TFTEA were due Feb. 24.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 26-30 in case they were missed.