CBP is extending the comment period to Aug. 26 for an existing information collection for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours.
The Federal Maritime Commission signed a memorandum of understanding with CBP on July 19 agreeing to share trade data within the International Trade Data System (ITDS), said CBP in a press release (here). The sharing of Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) data will help "strengthen the balance of facilitation and enforcement regarding the regulation of ocean carriers and other entities involved in trade," said CBP. The agreement means that CBP can transfer ACE data directly to the FMC to help it fulfill its "statutory and regulatory duties and responsibilities" and conserve resources within both agencies, said CBP. The agreement "specifies the specific data elements to be shared, the legal authority of FMC to receive the data and the conditions under which FMC may use, store or share the information," said CBP
As CBP moves toward developing enforcement rules for Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS), the agency is considering several new penalty and bonding regimes, said agency and industry stakeholders. There's some concern that too strict requirements could exclude some important players from the program, though there have not been any decisions made as to the specifics of the compliance regime, said people involved in the process. ACAS, now in a pilot program, allows carriers to submit cargo data to CBP in advance of actual shipment.
The Federal Maritime Commission extended the comment period by 30 days for a proposed rulemaking to add new licensing and financial requirements to Ocean Transportation Intermediaries (OTIs), the agency said in a notice. The proposed rules would create some additional licensing requirements for OTIs, somewhat similar to what is required of customs brokers, and increase the bonding requirements. (see 13053031). The extension came in response to a request from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), said the FMC. While the NCBFAA requested a 60-day extension, the FMC decided to give a 30-day extension, it said. Comments on the proposal are now due Aug. 30.
The Labor Department updated its list of goods it believes to have been produced by child labor or forced labor to add four goods (cattle from South Sudan, dried fish from Bangladesh, fish from Ghana, garments from Vietnam, and gold and wolframite from the Democratic Republic of Congo). The full report, including the updated list and a discussion of the list’s context, scope, methodology, and limitations, as well as frequently asked questions and a bibliography of sources, is available on the DOL website (here). The Federal Register notice is (here)
Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of July 22. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, 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, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc.
CBP posted a July 22 version of its CF 1400 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Entrances) electronic query report of the Vessel Management System (VMS), in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by entrances. CBP also posted a version of its CF 1401 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Clearances) electronic query report of the VMS, in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by clearances.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated July 17. The corresponding downloadable rulings are now available.