Drug trafficking activity through countries that do not produce the drugs has increased in recent years, said CBP in a Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism alert. Pointing to the Port of Guayaquil, Ecuador, CBP has "noted an alarming uptick in the number and size of drug trafficking operations targeting legitimate cargo" at the port involving corrupt officials, it said. "The increase in drug trafficking activity at the Port of Guayaquil is part of a larger shift that has seen traffickers bypass the traditional drug-producing countries of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru in favor of Chile, Ecuador, and Panama." The "non-drug-producing countries accounted for nearly 66 percent of seizures compared to 34 percent from the traditional cocaine producers," the agency said. "Smugglers may have started to favor these countries because they are less focused on fighting drug trafficking compared to countries such as Colombia, where trafficking is a primary focal point of government policy and enforcement efforts. "
In the Feb. 19 issue of the CBP Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 9), CBP published a notice that proposed to revoke rulings and similar treatment for the tariff classification of velvet poinsettia wreaths.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Feb. 18 with 162 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 180,723. The most recent ruling is dated 02/12/2014.
CBP again reminded brokers and importers in a CSMS message that all imports of steel mill products need a steel import license for each entry. "During the government shutdown in October 2013, the U.S. Department of Commerce temporarily stopped issuing entry specific steel license numbers on imports of steel mill products, and permitted importers to use two non-entry specific steel license numbers on entry summaries," said CBP. "Those two temporary steel license numbers were only valid for use from October 1 -- 16, 2013 and not beyond. It has come to our attention that some Customs brokers and importers are incorrectly continuing to use the temporary steel license numbers on entry summaries for imports of steel mill products. This practice must cease immediately." The steel import license number obtained for each shipment needs to be reported on the corresponding entry summary, the agency said. Steel import licenses come from the Department of Commerce International Trade Administration.
CBP issued its Feb. 19 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 7), which contains the following ruling actions:
President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order establishing a deadline for the completion of the long-awaited International Trade Data System (ITDS) “single window” for filing trade information required by numerous government agencies, the White House said Feb. 19. The order (here) is meant to propel necessary data sharing agreements among the agencies and align ITDS with the timeline set for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), former CBP officials said.
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.
The owner of a Chicago-area auto shop was charged with felony counterfeit trademarks after counterfeit airbags were found at the business, said ICE in a press release. The charges were a result of investigation by Cook County Sheriff’s Police, with assistance from ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and CBP, it said. Law enforcement first went to the shipping address for a shipment of counterfeit airbags from China, the release said. "CBP officers had seized the airbag shipment earlier that week. Investigators learned that Grzegorz Lepkowski, who lived at the location, had ordered the airbags for his friend Stanislaw Gondek. CBP had previously notified Gondek on three separate occasions that the agency had seized counterfeit airbags that were originally to be shipped to his business." A search of Gondek's business turned up 24 counterfeit airbags, said ICE.
CBP posted its draft agenda and other documents for the upcoming Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on Feb. 20, which include the "foundational principles required to position the U.S. government to efficiently manage strategic cross border issues in a manner that reduces the cost of doing business" related to exports. Other documents include draft recommendations, and other documents on trade modernization, the global supply chain, trade enforcement and other topics. The draft agenda is (here). The principles for a "One U.S. Government at the Border Cooperation for Exports" is (here).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 10-14 in case they were missed.