CBP Administrative Messages, Web Postings, Etc.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an ABI administrative message announcing recent changes to the 2007 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HS Update No. 0708), which include the following:
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1. Harmonized System Update - Changes to the 2007 HTS
changes made as a result of the Committee for Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules (484(f) Committee), which will take effect on January 1, 2008;
the annual staged rate reductions for 2008;
modifications mandated by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), including:
o the importer assessment rate for mushrooms will increase from $0.0043 cents per pound to $0.005 cents per pound effective January 1, 2008
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/29/07 news, 07102099 4, for BP summary of the fee increase, which contains information on an exemption for certain importers.)
o the importer assessment rate for watermelons will increase to six cents per hundredweight, from four cents, effective January, 1, 2008
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/31/07 news, 07103115, for BP summary of the fee increase, which contains information on an exemption for certain importers.); and
changes required by the verification of the 2007 HTS (CBP will continue to verify the 2007 HTS for the remainder of the year).
CBP states that updated records are currently available to all ABI participants and can be retrieved electronically via the procedures outlined in the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR).
(Adm: 07-0264, dated 11/27/07, available at http://www.brokerpower.com/admmsgs/2007/07-0264.html)
2. 2nd Specialty Sugar TRQ Oversubscribed at Opening Moment
CBP has posted a notice to its Web site announcing that the second fiscal year 2008 specialty sugar tariff-rate quota (TRQ) (i.e. tranche) that opened on November 15, 2007 oversubscribed at opening moment. The pro-rata percentage is .8575867 or 85.75867%.
CBP states that entries or withdrawals for consumption for specialty sugar presented after the opening should be returned to the broker for amendment. The importer has the option to distribute the prorated allocation on one or more entries or may choose not to enter any quantity. CBP states that the importer may also transfer the allotment to entries at another port. However, in any of these scenarios, CBP states that the importer may not enter more than the total prorated amount.
Note that the three other FY 2008 tranches for specialty sugar will open on January 30, 2008, May 14, 2008, and August 27, 2008. (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/09/07 news, 07110905, for BP summary announcing that the second tranche would open November 15th.) (QBT-07-563, dated 11/21/07, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/qbts/qbt2007/07_563.ctt/07_563.doc)
3. Weekly TRQ/TPL Commodity Report as of November 26, 2007
CBP has issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of November 26, 2007. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, tobacco, certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (CBP's weekly TRQ/TPL commodity report, dated 11/26/07, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
4. Various Postings to CBP's Web Site
The following have been posted to CBP's Web site:
Weekly foreign currency exchange rate multipliers. CBP has posted the weekly foreign currency exchange rate multipliers for the weeks ending: 11/02/07, 11/09/07, 11/16/07, and 11/23/07. (Multipliers, posted 11/26/07, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/duty_rates/week_for_currate/)
CBP seizes counterfeit "Coach" belts from China. CBP has issued a press release announcing that officers and import specialists at the Port of Seattle seized a shipment of over 20,000 counterfeit "Coach" fashion belts from China worth more than $2 million in retail value or $30,408 domestic value. (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/28/07 news, 07112820, for BP summary of textile and apparel trade enforcement information provided by CBP officials, which includes information on imports from China.) (Press release, dated 11/26/07, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/11262007_8.xml)
Officers seize marijuana in FAST driver's commercial shipment. CBP has issued a press release stating that officers at the Calexico, California east commercial facility detained a Mexican Free and Secure Trade (FAST)-registered truck driver after they discovered 8.85 tons of marijuana (valued at $67 million) commingled with a shipment of television screens. (Press release, dated 11/19/07, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/11192007.xml)