CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of June 23. This report (here) 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 will begin the third phase of its Document Image System (DIS) pilot in the Automated Commercial Environment, expanding the program by supporting additional partner government agency (PGA) forms and revising rules for submitting images through DIS, said CBP in a notice. DIS allows for electronic submission of documents during the import process required by multiple agencies. CBP began testing the program in 2012 (see 12040548) and began the second phase during the summer of 2013 (see 13071014).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 16-20 in case they were missed.
CBP issued a guidance outlining multiple scenarios and the proper procedures for industry to deal with possible port disruptions related to labor contract disputes on the West coast. CBP "in conjunction with trade stakeholders, has established procedures for a possible West coast trade disruption that could cause major delays and diversions of vessel cargo arriving and departing from West coast ports," the agency said. The procedures will only be in effect in the event of a port disruption and CBP will publish notices when they go into effect and when normal processing resumes, it said.
Containerized imports of rice from countries where the Khapra Beetle is known to live should be palletized to allow for easier inspection and treatment, said CBP's New York Office of Field Operations in an informational pipeline. CBP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture "request" that such rice imports are made available for manipulation, it said. "CBP has determined that a work labor savings of up to three hours per examination can be obtained by pelletizing rice," it said. The request is part of a CBP effort to add efficiency to the Centralized Examination Station facility processing of rice shipments that require CBP exam, it said.
Independent testing of imported women's capri pants was not sufficient to prove CBP was mistaken in its testing and classification of the pants, agency headquarters said in a March 30 ruling. The importer protested the classification decision of the Port of New York/New Jersey, pointing to the company's independent tests that showed different fiber contents than CBP's testing. CBP headquarters further reviewed the protest because it involved novel "questions of law or fact" that have not been ruled on by CBP or the courts, it said. Specifically, the protest "notes independent laboratory results conflict with those of CBP’s laboratory, questions the laboratory methodology with respect to the testing of linen and cotton, and contests that the CBP laboratory may have tested the wrong sample."
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The FCC proposed the "largest fine in its history" for the alleged illegal marketing of 285 models of signal jamming devices to U.S. consumers for more than two years. The FCC proposed a fine of $34.9 million against Chinese company C.T.S. Technology, an electronics manufacturer and online retailer. The FCC said it proposed the largest fine allowed for each individual model allegedly marketed by C.T.S.
Some Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) antidumping/countervailing duty entry summary transactions for cases with a specific rate are being rejected incorrectly, said CBP in a CSMS message. The entries are rejected with the reason "Estimated duty/calculated duty mismatch,” said CBP. "Currently, there is no workaround for this issue" but "a fix to resolve this issue will be implemented in ACE" in the coming weekend, said CBP.
While China's Ministry of Commerce recently decided against allowing for the P3 Network Sharing Agreement, the Federal Maritime Commission's approval will remain in effect, the FMC said. The agency took a long look and ultimately approved the pact (see 14032117), which would allow for regional vessel sharing among the three largest container carriers: Maersk Line, CMA-CGM, and Mediterranean Shipping Company. "The Commission’s decision remains in effect absent a withdrawal of the agreement by the parties," it said. FMC Chairman Mario Cordero touted the effects of carrier alliances in a statement. "Ocean carrier vessel space alliances offer the potential benefit of cost savings and environmental efficiencies that come from coordinated deployment of newer, larger vessels," he said. "The FMC, in evaluating such agreements, will continue to balance those benefits with the potential harm from a concentration of decision-making power in terms of port coverage, sailing schedules, and necessary trade lane capacity."