CBP released its July 24 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 31). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent general notices.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 15-19 in case they were missed.
CBP turned down a request from Microsoft that the agency repeal a previous ruling that found some updated Motorola Mobility products to fall outside of an exclusion order issued by the International Trade Commission (ITC). The June 24 rulings, recently posted online by CBP, led to a Microsoft lawsuit against the agency filed earlier this month.
CBP will begin the second phase of its Document Imaging System (DIS) pilot by adding software providers as participants and involving more partner government agency forms, the agency said in a notice. CBP previously announced the plans to expand the pilot (see 13071014).
CBP's New York field office provided guidance on how it handles the discovery of non-compliant wood packaging material (WPM) in July 16 informational pipeline. CBP will require immediate export of the entire shipment after the agency fines non-compliant WPM, it said. The bond-holder at the time of the discovery will receive an Emergency Action Notification, requiring export of the WPM within 72 hours of the notification, said CBP. Failure may result in liquidated damages, said CBP. U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations require that WPM be marked with several indicators that show the WPM has been properly treated.
A final rule from CBP on Importer Security Filing (ISF) is expected to come in February, said the Department of Homeland Security in its Spring 2013 Unified Agenda. The agency said in its previous regulatory agenda that CBP was targeting this past February for the final rule (see 13010330). No other trade-related items were listed on the DHS agenda.
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Former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk was elected to Texas Instruments' board of directors, the company said in a press release. Kirk now works at the law firm Gibson, Dunn.
CBP's New York/Newark field office advised importers of the increased enforcement of Importer Security Filing (ISF) requirements in an information pipeline. The field office provided transaction codes that will be used to place non-compliant shipments on hold, preventing movement of the cargo in-bond via 1W (Within Port Transfers to a CFS) and 1J (In-bond Authorized Movements to In-land Ports). Unauthorized release or transfers before the appropriate release is posted will result in liquidated damage claims against the "responsible entity," the notice said. The agency began using liquidated damages to enforce ISF non-compliance on July 9 (see 13062613). Shipments designated for a CBP exam within the port that have a bill of lading with an ISF hold code should be transferred to the Centralized Examination Station (CES) and staged for an exam, the notice said. The shipment must be held at the CES until a release code is posted, "even if all exam holds are released," the agency said.
With the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) set to expire in 2015, proponents are starting to discuss renewing the act early, expanding existing provisions and even making duty-free treatment permanent with reciprocity. The act was initially “set up as a developmental tool” for African countries and was “not intended to be reciprocal,” said Deanna Clark, an international trade and fashion compliance attorney. However, some international trade experts are now urging the Administration to expand the trade agreement and add reciprocal provisions.