Entries submitted to CBP missing invoices require a new entry and cannot be updated in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) with a Post Summary Correction (PSC), CBP said in a CSMS message. The ACE Business Rules and Process Document "is currently being revised to include this additional guidance," CBP said.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Jan. 13. 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.
CBP posted a Jan. 13 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 published the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refund (overpayments) of customs duties. For the quarter which began Jan. 1 and ends March. 31, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3 percent for non-corporations, and the rate of underpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and non-corporations. These interest rates are subject to change for the calendar quarter beginning April 1 and ending June 30, said CBP.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 6-10 in case they were missed.
The customs brokers have been and will continue to be a necessary part of CBP's trade mission, but coming regulatory changes may require some "reinvention" within the industry, said Al Gina, a former head of CBP's Office of International Trade. Similarly, CBP made some major adjustments during Gina's time there due to new budgetary constraints, an issue that continues to loom over CBP as it works to develop both long and short-term initiatives, he said. Gina, who recently retired from the agency and is now a partner at CT Strategies (see 13111217), discussed a number of agency initiatives and his new work during a wide-ranging interview on Jan. 9.
The World Customs Organization (WCO) has reached out to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to "discuss and define its role with regards to the implementation of the" Agreement on Trade Facilitation, said the WCO in a press release. Secretary General of the WCO Kunio Mikuriya discussed the WCO's work while talking to the EU Customs Union Group in Brussels, the release said. "Noting specific reference to the WCO in the agreement the Secretary General highlighted the willingness and capability of the organization to support the approach agreed by the WTO" in December (see 13120922) ,it said. "There is an expectation that the WCO will play a role and he urged delegates present to seek support from their trade ministries." Supply chain security remains a WCO agenda priority and a review of the Secure and Facilitate Global Trade standards, "including additional clauses for [Authorized Economic Operators], is already underway," said the release.
CBP will add several Missouri ports to the Simplified Entry pilot, said Scarbrough International, a pilot participant, in a press release. CBP recently told the company it will add the Port of St. Louis, Kansas City Airport and Springfield Airport to the program, Scarbrough said. The pilot, now officially called the Automated Commercial Environment Cargo Release, was recently expanded (see 13110115). “As one of only a few brokers nationally with the permissions and capabilities to transmit a Simplified Entry, we are very pleased to be the voice for the Midwest and represent the many international businesses in our region that utilize Missouri airports to fulfill their supply chain and logistics needs,” said Adam Hill, vice president of Operations for Scarbrough
CBP New York/Newark released statistics in a pipeline notice showing the "cycle time measurement" of Centralized Examination Stations from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. The cycle times refer to the time from ocean container arrival, as transmitted via the Automated Commercial Environment, through final examination completion as recorded in the Cargo Enforcement Reporting and Tracking System.
CBP is seeking to revise its regulations to lessen requirements for importing goods from U.S. territories, known as insular possessions, that fall outside the customs territory, it said in a notice of proposed rulemaking. Currently, to receive duty-free treatment of imports from U.S. territories other than Puerto Rico, the importer is required to file a signed CBP Form 3229 with each entry that includes the signature of a customs official at the port of export. The agency proposes to update its regulations in 19 CFR Part 7 to remove the export verification altogether and only require the importer to provide the form upon CBP request.