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International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 18-21 in case they were missed.
New lobbyist registrations on trade-related issues include:
CBP should be careful in considering the changes to broker permitting and take into account the individual brokers that would be affected, said Kuehne + Nagel Import Compliance Officer Ken Bargteil while speaking at the Feb. 20 Advisory Committee on the Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC) meeting. Bargteil, a longtime member of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Customs Committee, said he was speaking for himself as an individually licensed broker and on behalf of Darrell Sekin, president of the NCBFAA, during the public comment period. The COAC "Role of the Broker" working group is developing recommendations to CBP for how to go about modernizing the current district permitting regulations for customs brokers.
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CBP sees President Barack Obama's Feb. 19 executive order calling for the completion of the International Trade Data System (ITDS) by 2016 (see 14021928) as a "very important step forward," said Acting Commissioner Tom Winkowski while talking with reporters before the Feb. 20 Advisory Committee on the Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC) meeting. "It will eliminate the need for paperwork" and result in lowered transaction costs, he said. The order, which took about a year to get through the lengthy review process, "really sets the tone and puts a spotlight, if you will, on the importance of trade," said Winkowski. "We've got to get this up and running," he said.
President Barack Obama's Feb. 19 executive order calling for the completion of the International Trade Data System (ITDS) by 2016 (see 14021928) continued to garner support. “This Executive Order will be beneficial to improving our supply chain efficiency and moving goods and services that cross our borders,” said Scott Davis, CEO of UPS, in a press release (here). “This change will be particularly meaningful to our small and medium-sized customers that depend on global trade to grow their businesses and reach the 95 percent of consumers that live outside U.S. borders.”
CBP posted a Feb. 18 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.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Feb. 18. 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.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Feb. 18. The corresponding downloadable rulings are now available.