CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
An entry summary line may require the reporting of both an antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) case and filers should check the applicable cash deposit instructions or contact the Commerce Department to confirm the applicable AD/CVD cases said CBP in a CSMS message Automated Broker Interface (ABI) filers. "Filers should not rely on the 'related case #' field in the ACE AD/CVD case management information to determine a related AD or CVD case," said CBP. "If the “related case #” field is blank, a related AD or CVD case may still be required."
Sequestration won't effect the 2013 roll-out of the remaining Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), said CBP during a conference call with industry, according to a notice from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). CBP also said there won't "be effects on CEE staff," said the NCBFAA. CBP previously raised the possibility that sequestration could slow the openings of the new CEEs (see 13022528).
An amendment added to a government spending bill, HR-933, would limit federal agencies to sending at most 25 employees to any single U.S. meeting, potentially preventing important dialogue between the government and private industry, said the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) in a notice. The timetable on the amendment, introduced by Sens. Coburn, R-Okla., and John McCain, R-Ariz, isn't clear, though "the Senate leadership has expressed a desire to expedite the amendment process," said NCBFAA.
March 14-17 FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwards) HQ Session, Swissotel, Zurich, Switzerland (here)
In preparation for a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Dangerous Goods Panel Spring Working Group set for April 15-19 in Canada, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s Office of Hazardous Materials Safety will hold a public meeting on April 8. Conference call capabilities will be available.
The U.S. trade imbalance with South Korea has only gotten worse in the year since the implementation of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, said United Steelworkers International President Lego Gerard in a press release. "Imports of passenger vehicles from South Korea totaled $10.9 billion in 2012, up from $9 billion the year before -- a $1.9 billion increase, while U.S. exports increased a tiny $180 million to $546 million," he said. “In short, our trade deficit with South Korea is getting worse. With it, more good-paying, family supportive jobs are being lost at the rate of more than 5,000 American jobs per billion dollar increase in the trade deficit."
Correction: Elena Ryan is the Director of Trade Facilitation and Administration at CBP (see 13031422).
CBP is extending the comment period to April 17 for an existing information collection on applications for Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) admission and activity permits. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or to the information collected.
There have been fewer outages in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) in January and February this year compared to the same months in 2012, said CBP in a notice on its Website. There were also fewer hours of unscheduled outages in 2012 compared to 2011, the agency said. CBP issued the notice in response to comments from the trade community "pointing to a perceived increase" in ACE outages, it said.