ACS Can Now Accept Chile and Singapore FTA Claims
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that the Automated Commercial System (ACS) has been updated to accept U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA) and U.S-Singapore FTA (SFTA) claims through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI), effective February 23, 2004.
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In January 2004, CBP issued two administrative messages advising the trade of system requirements for filing UCFTA and SFTA claims through ABI. In these administrative messages, CBP has stated the following ABI system requirements must be met (partial list):
Country of origin. The country of origin for Chile must be 'CL' and for Singapore it must be 'SG.'
Country of export. With respect to Chile, the country of export must be 'CL', except for the tariff preference level (TPL) tariff number in HTS 9911.99 for certain cotton or man-made fiber (MMF) fabric goods made from third country fiber or yarn, and certain cotton or MMF apparel made from third country yarn or fabric, which are not required to have the country of export be 'CL.'
In the case of Singapore, the country of export must be 'SG,' except for the TPL tariff numbers in HTS 9910.61 for certain cotton or MMF apparel made from third country yarn or fabric, which do not require the country of export to be 'SG.'
HTS number must have Special subcolumn symbol 'CL' or 'SG.' CBP states that for Chile, the HTS number associated with the UCFTA claim must have the Special subcolumn symbol 'CL.' (CBP notes that HTS numbers with the Special subcolumn symbol 'CL' may either have a free or reduced 'CL' duty rate.)
For Singapore, the HTS number(s) associated with the SFTA claim must have the Special subcolumn symbol 'SG.' (CBP notes that HTS numbers with the Special subcolumn symbol 'SG' may either have a free or reduced 'SG' duty rate.)
Etc.
CBP Contacts for Various Policy and Procedure Questions
CBP states that policy and procedure questions related to the UCFTA and SFTA should be directed to the Office of Field Operations and provides a list of contacts related to certain provisions of these FTAs which include:
(See ITT's Online Archives or 01/07/04 news, 04010710, for BP summary of Adm: 04-0012, which details system requirements related to the Chile FTA.
See ITT's Online Archives or 01/16/04 news, 04011605, for BP summary of Adm: 04-0071, which details such requirements related to the Singapore FTA.
See ITT's Online Archives or 02/13/04 news, 04021350 1, for BP summary of Adm: 04-0196, which corrects Adm: 04-0012 and Adm: 04-0071 with respect to the merchandise processing fee exemptions. )
Adm: 04-0253, dated 02/23/04, available by email or fax by emailing staff@brokerpower.com