CBP records related to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are now available on a government website used to hold FOIA data for a number of agencies. The searchable database (here) will have information on CBP FOIA requests, appeals and records as of Oct. 1.
CBP would like to get representatives from other government agencies (OGAs) involved in import processing to play a bigger role within the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, said Judith-Anne Webster, an analyst with the Pharmaceutical, Chemical, and Health CEE. "That's the goal," and the agency is actively working to get other agencies on board, she said while speaking at the American Conference Institute's Customs Boot Camp conference on Nov. 19. While right now some of those agencies, the FDA for instance, are "players within the Center," they are hoped to eventually be "fully functioning members" within the CEEs, she said.
Difficult Transition Expected as Commerce, State Departments Move Forward to Finalize New ITAR Rules
As the Commerce and State departments move forward with their effort to finalize changes to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), satellite companies must be properly prepared to understand the enforcement, compliance and implementation aspects of the rules, a government official and compliance experts said Nov. 19 at a Washington Space Business Roundtable event. By the end of the year, the agencies plan to complete a final draft of the new rules, which mainly focus on moving satellite components and technology that aren't crucial to military operations and national security from the munitions list to the less restrictive Commerce Control List (CCL), said Kevin Wolf, assistant secretary of commerce for export administration.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Nov. 18. 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 seized two shipments of toys from China at the Port of New York/Newark due to violations of Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations, said CBP in a press release. CPSC alerted CBP that some of the toys included excessive amounts of lead, and others represented potential choking hazards, in violation of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, said CBP. CBP seized a total of 2,308 toys with an approximate total domestic value of $11,313, it said..
CBP's Port of Seattle issued a Trade Information Notice soliciting applications to operate a Centralized Examination Station (CES) for the Seattle and Tacoma ports. The solicitation period began Nov. 18 and expires Jan. 16. Public comments are also invited.
CBP reminded the trade industry to provide information on how imported goods meet free trade agreement (FTA) eligibility requirements when a FTA certification of origin is issued. "When a producer, exporter or importer issues an FTA certification of origin (a.k.a. Implementation Instructions, Attachment A), the “Preference Criterion” field should indicate how the good originates (meets the terms of the agreement) with the greatest specificity possible," it said in a CSMS message. For instance, if an imported good that includes non-originating materials, which undergo the required tariff-shift within a FTA, the Preference Criterion space should list what specific HTS General Note or FTA criteria that the tariff shift meets in order to get preferential treatment, said CBP.
A new CBP User Fee Advisory Committee will provide advice to the CBP commissioner "on issues related to trade and immigration user fees, port staffing levels, and inspectional services," the agency said in a press release. The committee membership is meant to reflect trade and travel industries that pay customs, immigration, or agriculture user fees and the committee's term will last until June 2015, it said. The members of the new committee are:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 12-15 in case they were missed.