U.S. Customs and Border Protection official Daniel Baldwin sought to allay persistent concerns from the trade community on the coming transition to eManifest: Rail and Sea (M1), saying the immediate CBP focus will be implementation rather enforcement. Baldwin, CBP's Executive Director of Cargo and Conveyance Security, spoke at the American Association for Exporters and Importers convention June 5. Several industry executives voiced concerns, especially about the treatment of residue within M1.
The House Homeland Security Committee will consider H.R. 4251, the Securing Maritime Activities through Risk-based Targeting (SMART) for Port Security Act , in a markup June 6. Text of the bill is (here).
The House Natural Resources Committee will mark up bills June 7, beginning at 10 a.m. including two that would revise Lacey Act provisions. Congress expanded the Lacey Act in 2008 to ban trade in products containing illegally harvested wood or plant material. The changes also require importers to document the genus, species and country of harvest of any wood or plant material contained in an imported product.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a June 4 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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of June 4.
CBP has posted the fiscal year 2012 preliminary Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (commonly referred to as the Byrd Amendment) amounts available as of April 30, 2012, which provides information on the amounts available to disburse by case.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection's establishment of Centers for Excellence and Expertise will be beneficial beyond a single agency, industry or company, said CBP Acting Commissioner David Aguilar, speaking at the American Association of Exporters and Importers conference June 4. Such efforts mark the institutionalizing of a "new culture," he said. "We're building the future," he said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the simplified entry (SE) pilot, begun on May 29, was successful. The successful pilot marks the delivery of the first phase of Cargo Release, known as Simplified Entry, in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), said CBP.
Congressional focus will be on giving Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status and repealing Jackson--Vanik, the 1974 law meant to restrict trade with Communist countries, said Ayesha Khanna, policy advisor for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Khanna spoke at the American Association of Exporters and Importers conference June 4. While the Jacskon-Vanik issue won't be without controversy, it is something Khanna expects Congressional attention on "at some point in the near term," she said.