Recent trade-related bills introduced in Congress include:
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Sept. 16. 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 is requesting comments by Nov. 18 for an existing information collection on forms for manifest and transportation entry for cargo moving under bond . CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Sept. 16 with 190 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 178,906. The most recent ruling is dated 09/13/2013.
The theme for the Oct. 24-25 East Coast Trade Symposium in Washington will be “Increasing Economic Competitiveness Through Global Partnership and Innovation,” said CBP in a notice. The event will be held at the Washington Hilton and will include discussions "regarding CBP’s role in international trade initiatives and partnerships," it said. Further information, including agenda and speakers, will be released later, it said. The agency will not be holding a West Coast Trade Symposium this year "due to sequestration," it said. CBP released the dates of the event last month (see 13083006).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 9-13 in case they were missed.
A Canada-based trailer of aluminum coils sent from upstate New York, going through Canada and destined for Detroit would not constitute an Instrument of International Traffic (IITs), said CBP in a Sept. 13 ruling. The ruling, HQ H242646, also found that U.S-based trailers and trucks doing the same thing would be considered IITs under CBP regulations, which allow for U.S. entry of IITs without a formal filing or duty payment. Novelis requested the ruling from CBP.
The International Code Council will consider a proposed fire code change that would require certain pallet stacking patterns for outdoor and indoor storage, said the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association. The ICC will consider the proposal during an Oct. 3 meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The proposed code changes would include height restrictions and distance requirements between stacks of wooden and plastic pallets. The proposal and public comments are on pages 1486-1499 (here)
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
In the Sept. 4 issue of the CBP Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 37), CBP published two notices that propose to modify rulings and similar treatment regarding the tariff classification of Brussels sprouts with butter sauce and sugar confectionery.