Drawback

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.

CBP is extending the comment period by March 23 on an existing information collection for declaration for free entry of returned American products. CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or information collected.

Akin Gump posted a summary of some of the major parts of customs reauthorization legislation (here) that was recently passed by Congress and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama (see 1602120029). The summary includes sections on new penalties for customs brokers, changes to drawback procedures, intellectual property rights protections and information requirements for importers of record. The outline also includes information on potentially quickly moving changes to de minimis levels, which "shall apply with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the 15th day after the date of the enactment."

CBP is requesting comments by March 17 on an existing information collection for protests. CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or information collected.

In the Jan. 20 issue of the CBP Customs Bulletin (Vol. 50, Nos. 2 and 3) (here), CBP published notices that propose to revoke or modify rulings and similar treatment for nozzles for dispersing or spraying high-pressure liquids and the physical vacuum deposition process as a "use" for purposes of same condition drawback.

The customs broker’s license examination scheduled for April 2016 will be on Monday, April 4, said CBP in a notice (here). The exam will consist of 80 multiple-choice questions. Exam topics usually include: Entry; Classification; Trade Agreements; Valuation; Broker Compliance; Power of Attorney; Marking; Drawback; Bonds; Foreign Trade Zones; Warehouse Entries; Intellectual Property Rights; and other subjects pertinent to a broker's duties.

Nineteen trade associations urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to schedule a vote for the customs reauthorization bill -- the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (H.R. 644) -- in a Jan. 15 letter (here). After the House passed the legislation (see 1512110029), the bill has sat idle in the Senate and no vote is scheduled, a McConnell spokeswoman said on Jan. 19. “We have worked for over a decade to bring this long-overdue legislation to passage, and so we urge you to quickly schedule a vote on the conference report,” the letter reads. If binding, the legislation would save money for U.S. businesses and consumers by modernizing customs laws and procedures to keep up with business trends and increase efficiency, the groups said.

CBP posted a new chapter of the CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) for drawback entry summary. The new CATAIR chapter (here) "is intended to provide the conventional trade interface information for the ACE-version of a Drawback Entry Summary filing," it said.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for 2015 in case they were missed.

Treasury’s Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is seeking to collect information to verify claims for drawback of the federal excise tax for items--"generally nonbeverage products"--brought into the U.S. mainland from Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands (here). Treasury will submit the information request to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance.