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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will consider a proposal to allow for electronic signatures and recordkeeping, the agency said in a notice. The proposal would allow for the flexibility to "conduct business using either electronic or traditional paper-based methods," it said. The proposed rule would apply "only to those documents that FMCSA’s regulations obligate entities or individuals to retain; it would not apply to forms or other documents that must be submitted directly to FMCSA," it said. The rule would also not apply to other agencies’ rules, "even if FMCSA requires compliance with those rules," the agency said. For example, some of FMCSA’s regulations cover hazardous materials and the proposed rule would not cover those requirements, it said. Comments on the proposal are due June 27.
An executive of a rubber hose manufacturer who was recently extradited from Germany pleaded guilty "for participating in a conspiracy to rig bids, fix prices and allocate market shares of marine hose sold" in the U.S. and around the world, said the Justice Department in a press release. Romano Pisciotti, an Italian national who previously worked as a manager at Parker ITR Srl’s Oil & Gas Business Unit, was sentenced to two years in prison by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Ft. Lauderdale, it said. According to the indictment, "Pisciotti and his conspirators provided information received from customers in the United States and elsewhere about upcoming marine hose jobs to another co-conspirator who served as a coordinator of the conspiracy," said the DOJ. "The coordinator acted as a clearinghouse for bidding information that was shared among the conspirators, and was paid by the manufacturers for coordinating the conspiracy." So far, five companies and eight individuals have pleaded guilty, the agency said. One individual, who was sentenced to home confinement, "remains at large," it said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
The link between the Food and Drug Administration and CBP will be down for maintenance during two time periods on April 26, said CBP in a CSMS message. The outages are scheduled for 3- 4 a.m. and 9:30-10:30 a.m., it said. "This outage will prevent submitters who file via ABI/ACS from receiving prior notice confirmation and will prevent CBP from auto checking the prior notice confirmation for ABI/ACS filers," it said. "If prior notice has not already been submitted, ABI filers may decide to wait out the FDA-CBP link downtime if they determine that the timeliness of prior notice will not be adversely affected." Filers may also "submit prior notice via [Prior Notice System Interface], in which case the prior notice confirmation number must accompany the article of food," it said.
New International Organization for Standardization (ISO) specifications for security seals are set to go into effect May 15, CBP reminded Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members in a notice. ISO published the new standard, ISO 17712:2013, last year. C-TPAT criteria requires that "all seals must meet or exceed the current ISO 17712 standards for high security seals," though C-TPAT members "may continue to use the remaining ISO 17712:2010 high security seals they have in stock and then look to purchase ISO 17712:2013 high security seals in the future," the agency said. CBP also reminded C-TPAT participants to be careful when buying the seals and that they should get independent written certification from the supplier to make sure the seals meet the required standard.
CBP said its Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1403 was created April 24, containing 569 ABI records and 110 harmonized tariff records. The update contains modifications made as a result of Agricultural Marketing Service raspberry fees (see 14022516). Adjustments required by the verification of the 2014 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are also included, CBP said in a CSMS message. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov.
David Heyman, assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security, will leave the agency next month, he said in an April 23 memo. "My plan has always been to conclude my tenure sometime following the completion of our nation's second Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, which is forthcoming," he said. As such, and so that our new Secretary of Homeland Security can put in place a team of his own choosing, I wanted to let you know I will step down," in mid-May. Heyman highlighted agency accomplishments, including global supply chain security strategies, trade-related executive orders and the Beyond the Border Initiative with Canada.
Goods originating in Crimea should continue to be marked as originating in Ukraine, despite claims from Russia that the disputed peninsula is now part of Russia, said CBP in a CSMS message. The U.S. has said it disapproves of Russia's efforts to take control of Crimea and considers a Crimean vote to rejoin Russia to be illegitimate. "Growth, production, or manufacture of a good in Crimea is growth, production, or manufacture of a good in Ukraine," it said.
Despite a previous port classification decision and 81 subsequent liquidated entries claiming preferential treatment under that classification, the entries of a single importer through a single port is not enough to create an "established and uniform practice," CBP said in ruling HQ H15556. The ruling, dated Feb. 3, addressed an internal advice request on whether embroidered fabric produced in Honduras using originating embroidery yarns and batiste fabric from China origin qualify for preferential tariff treatment as an originating good under the Dominican Republic -- Central America -- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). The agency also considered whether a uniform practice had been established.