CBP is extending the comment period to Feb. 10 for an existing information collection on forms for vessel entrance or clearance statements. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.
CBP will allow for an extra day without penalty for filing of entries and duties that were due in the Port of Boston and Logan Airport Jan. 3, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). Filings due to the Toledo port of entry on Jan. 6 and 7 will also be given an extra day, it said in another CSMS message (here).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
Noel Sanchez was promoted to acting director of CBP's Laredo Field Office, the agency said in a press release. Sanchez, who was previously deputy commander for the South Texas Campaign, will take over for Eugenio Garza, who retired Jan. 3, said CBP.
CBP has learned of "several instances of containerized cargo pilferage and/or manipulation between Lesotho and the Port of Durban, South Africa," the agency said in a notice to Customs-Trade Partners Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members. The notice is dated "December 2013" but was recently posted to CBP's site. Thieves in the area "steal the original cargo while in transit and then counterbalance the container with items of no value so that the weight of the container remains the same as the original weight so as not to alert local Customs officials," said CBP. The thieves have most commonly targeted shipments of apparel and textiles and it's not unusual to "find employees of local companies involved in cargo theft in South Africa," said CBP.
CBP posted a Jan. 6 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 the year-end tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report on Jan. 6. 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 released its Jan. 8 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 1). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent Court of International Trade decisions and general notices.
CBP said its Harmonized System Update 1401 was created Jan. 6, containing 1,411 ABI records and 236 harmonized tariff records. The update includes Participating Government Agency indicators "that are subject to the PGA message set that will apply to the PGA pilot participants," it said. "The PGA data for the update transactions are stored on the record identifier ‘VL’ (OUTPUT) records. The PGA data for the query transactions are stored on the record identifier ‘WL’ (OUTPUT) records." . 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.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 30- Jan. 3 in case they were missed.