CBP is extending the comment period to Aug. 20 for an existing information collection for entry summaries. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.
CBP said the following customs broker licenses and all associated permits are canceled without prejudice:
CBP lacks the authority to continue with planned updates to its informed compliance publication (ICP) that would spell out the agency's consideration of first sale valuation, said customs law firm Grunfeld Desiderio on its website. As a result, the firm is stepping up its opposition efforts, outlining exactly how it believes CBP is misusing the system and taking its case to congressional staff, it said (here).
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh apples (Malus pumila) from China into the U.S. As a condition of entry, apples from areas in China in which the Oriental fruity fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) is not known to exist would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include registration requirements for places of production and packinghouses, inspection for quarantine pests, etc. Apples from areas where the fruit fly is known to exist could be imported into the U.S. if, in addition to these requirements, the apples are treated with fumigation plus refrigeration and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration that all import conditions have been met and the consignment has been inspected and found free of quarantine pests. Comments are due by Sept. 16.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) will remove certain ring spun single yarns of micro modal fibers from the list of items not available in commercial quantities in a timely manner under Annex 3.25 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (CAFTA-DR). In June, Buhler Quality Yarns requested that CITA make a determination as to the commercial availability of the yarns, said the notice. CITA solicited input on a request for removal and it received no filings in opposition, said the notice. The effective date is 180 days after publication of the notice in the Federal Register, i.e., Jan. 14.
The U.S. could help restart the recently stalled growth in trade in technology goods through the completion of Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, said TechAmerica in a new report (here). "These new agreements could expand U.S. free trade markets to 53 countries, creating significant opportunities for U.S. technology companies," TechAmerica said in a press release. Tech goods exports totaled $205 billion in 2013 and imports accounted for $351 billion, the report said. Many of the tech imports are part of a global supply chain, where U.S. multinational companies create and design the products in the U.S. while producing the final product overseas, the report said. Often, such imports represent "an intra-company transfer as U.S. firms brings their products into the United States for sale from their overseas production facilities," the study found. While both exports and imports have recovered since the recession, "the past two years have seen a slowdown in the growth rate as key overseas markets have experienced economic malaise and the economic recovery in the United States has been slow," said TechAmerica. NAFTA partners Mexico and Canada were by far the largest destination for U.S. tech exports, accounting for $39 billion and $28 billion worth, respectively, the association said.
Daniel Oberholtzer and his company, ConnectZone.com, were sentenced July 11 in U.S. District Court in Seattle for their role in the production and sales of counterfeit Cisco Systems products, said ICE in a press release. The company was sentenced to five years' organizational probation and Oberholtzer will serve 37 months in federal prison and will pay a fine of $20,000, the agency said. Oberholtzer used several foreign sources in China for the counterfeit cables, which were eventually sold on the website as genuine, it said. Investigators said the defendants mislabeled the counterfeit shipments as "samples" in order to evade detection. Oberholtzer was one of four individuals charged in the indictment last year.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP released its July 16 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 28). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent Court of International Trade decisions.
CBP posted the slides from a July 14 presentation on Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Presenters included CBP officials as well as Amy Magnus, Director of Customs Affairs and Compliance at A.N. Deringer and Stuart Schmidt, manager of trade compliance at UPS. The presentation includes slides on "ACE Entry Summary Post Statement Requests for Documents and CBP Forms 28, 29, 4647" and "ACE Entry Summary Post Summary Corrections, Rejections and Lifecycle."