CBP issued a final determination concerning the country of origin of Vantage Vehicle electric trucks and vans. CBP has determined that the U.S. is the country of origin of the low speed electric trucks (models EVX1000 and EVR1000) and electric vans (models EVC1000 and EVP1000) for purposes of U.S. government procurement.
CBP released its Dec. 5 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 50). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent Court of International Trade decisions.
CBP is considering establishing a numeric identifiers platform as a way to cut down on intellectual property rights (IPR) violations and allow the agency to better target and authenticate products, said agency officials and members of the trade industry during the Dec. 4 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting. The agency is looking to pilot the program first, and the IPR COAC subcommittee continues to work with the agency to develop the program. The identifier platform is part of a distribution chain management program effort meant to reduce IPR inspections and holds for participants in the program.
Dechert hired Jeremy Zucker as a partner in the law firm's international trade practice in Washington, the firm said. Zucker previously worked at Hogan Lovells.
The Senate leadership scheduled a vote Dec. 5 on legislation (HR-6156) that would give Russia and Moldova Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status, according to the Senate floor calendar. The House recently approved the bill, which would repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which limits U.S. trade with communist countries..
CBP will hold the 2013 C-TPAT Conference January 8-10, 2013 in the Washington, DC area. The three-day seminar that will be divided into two sessions, one general session day and two workshop days, said CBP. The conference registration will open at noon on Dec. 5. Registration is (here).
CBP issued a guidance for vessels diverted from the Long Beach port of entry due to the strike. The agency said it's aware the strike has been resolved and the information should be used if still necessary.
CBP issued a notice announcing that hundreds of Customs broker licenses are revoked by operation of law, without prejudice, for failure to file the 2012 triennial status report and applicable fee.
CBP's requirement for the arrival of the full in-bond shipment before a subsequent in-bond movement in ACE may require some revision and the agency is working on an update, said a CBP spokeswoman. The agency recently said it needed to put the new policy in place to better track in-bond movements and adjust to programming edits related to the transition to ACE M1: Rail and Sea.
CBP hopes to deploy its Partner Government Agency (PGA) message set in the "spring-summer timeframe," said Brenda Smith, acting director of the ACE business office while speaking at the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting on Dec. 4. "We see that very close on the horizon, she said.