The bill introduced by House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) Dec. 7, offers a useful starting point for future discussions for the legislation, even though it's highly unlikely anything will be finished this year, observers said. There's still much to be decided before a customs reauthorization bill can make its way through the legislative process, said industry executives following the issue closely.
Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), will join the Senate Finance Committee in the next congress, said Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) in a press release. Brown and Bennet will replace outgoing Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), both retiring this year.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
Port code 3382 (Casper, Wyo.) is now inactive for CBP transactions, CBP said in a CSMS message. All CBP transactions should be filed using port code 3332, said CBP. This change aligns port operations with 19 CFR 101.3.
CBP issued a CSMS message announcing the issuance of Harmonized System Update 1210 on changes to the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This update contains 39,623 ABI records and 6,726 harmonized tariff records. The modifications, effective Jan. 1, include the annual special program staged rate reductions, it said. The changes were made as a result of the 484(f) Committee, the Committee for Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules. Adjustments required by the verification of the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) are also included. The modified records are currently available to all ABI participants and can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the CATAIR. Contact Jennifer Keeling via email at Jennifer.Keeling@dhs.gov for all other questions.
CBP posted items agreed upon during the Dec. 4 meeting of the Advisory Committee for Commercial Operations (COAC), including a set of recommendations from the COAC Subcommittees on the Role of the Broker and Trade Facilitation regarding the increased reliance on Centers for Excellence and Expertise (CEEs).
CBP posted its annual agricultural report, which covers fiscal year 2012.The report provides a high level overview of two key areas, CBP agriculture inspection statistics and resulting enforcement action statistics.
CBP posted items agreed upon during the Dec. 4 meeting of the Advisory Committee for Commercial Operations (COAC), including a set of recommendations from the COAC Trade Facilitation Subcommittee.
The costs of using a private, third-party Central Examination Site (CES) designated by CBP should be the responsibility of the importer, rather than the customs broker, said Cataract Customs Brokers in comments to CBP. The comments were filed in response to a seemingly unconnected Federal Register notice announcing the date and agenda for the Dec. 4 meeting of the Advisory Committee for Commercial Operations (COAC).
CBP announced that the 2013 annual user fee of $138 for each customs broker permit and national permit held by an individual, partnership, association, or corporation is due by Feb. 15.