CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP fixed a problem with Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) entry summary processing, CBP said in a CSMS message. Entry summaries that resulted in an ACE system failure response should be resubmitted, CBP said. The agency said earlier on June 19 that its ACE entry summary processing was down (here) and that the issue was being worked as "our highest priority."
CBP acted properly when it reliquidated an entry of polyester staple fiber at a higher antidumping (AD) duty rate than when it was deemed liquidated, the agency said in an April 18 ruling. The ruling, HQ H215035, came in response to a protest from the importer, Consolidated Fibers. CBP found that it has 90 days to reliquidate an entry that was deemed liquidated, and that the 90 days runs from the date of the notice of deemed liquidation, not from the date of deemed liquidation itself. CBP made the decision after conducting a further review that was "warranted" because it "involves questions of law or fact which have not been ruled upon by the Commissioner of Customs or his designee, or by the Customs courts," said CBP.
Correction: The Electronics Center for Excellence and Expertise (CEE) is located Los Angeles/Long Beach and the Pharmaceutical CEE is in New York (see 14061723).
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated June 16 with 125 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 182,475. The most recent ruling is dated 06/16/14.
CBP released its June 18 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 24). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent Court of International Trade decisions and general notices.
The Federal Maritime Commission formally asked the parties to the OVSA/PIL Space Charter Agreement to provide additional information about the agreement. The request prevents the agreement from taking effect as originally scheduled. Interested parties can file comments on the request by July 9. Parties to Agreement No.: 012274 are: Hamburg Sud; Hapag-Lloyd AG; CMA CGM S.A./ANL Singapore Pte Ltd. (acting as a single party); and Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreements under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreement to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.
Members of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) went to Capitol Hill on June 17 to ask lawmakers to pass a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB), NAM said in a press release. "While the MTB enjoys broad bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, it remains hamstrung by inside-the-beltway politics," said NAM. "Congress’s failure to act on this jobs bill couldn’t come at a worse time, as manufacturers struggle to regain their footing in a still-struggling economy." An MTB, typically passed by every congress to suspend tariffs on certain products, faces an uphill battle in this Congress due to a dispute over whether MTB violates a ban on earmarks (see 13103117). "For three decades on a bipartisan basis, Congress has approved this critical legislation, which suspends import tariffs on essential manufacturing inputs and products that are not produced in the United States," said a NAM fact sheet on the issue (here) "Unless Congress acts quickly, costs will continue to mount for manufacturers and jobs will continue to be negatively impacted."
President Barack Obama called for executive branch agencies to work together on a plan to stem illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud in a June 17 memo. A task force made up of agency officials, including from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce and Agriculture, will report to the President on "existing regulatory authorities" and "recommendations regarding further authorities that may be warranted," as well as "opportunities to address these issues at the international level through the regional fisheries management organizations as well as bilateral efforts, such as technical assistance and capacity building," the memo said. The task force will also "coordinate its efforts with other Presidential initiatives focused on related issues," including wildlife trafficking (see 14021126) and streamlined import processes (see 14021928).