CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
The Port of New York/New Jersey wrongly classified imported gum that included a homeopathic drug inside, CBP said in a July 16 ruling. The agency's ruling, HQ H243587, came in response to a request for a further review of protest. CBP said a further review was granted because the company claimed the initial denied protest was inconsistent with previous CBP rulings.
The Federal Maritime Commission plans to hold a public forum focused on congestion at the South Atlantic ports, the agency said. FMC Commissioner Michael Khouri will lead the forum and report to the full Commission on the discussion, the agency said. The event is scheduled for Oct. 30 in Charleston at the Charleston Area Convention Center.
CBP issued a technical amendment to its regulations by revising the list of user fee airports to reflect the recent user fee airport designation of John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California. User fee airports are airports that do not qualify for designation as international or landing rights airports, but have been approved by CBP to receive, for a fee, the services of CBP officers for the processing of aircraft entering the U.S., and the passengers and cargo of those aircraft.
Entry information for imported natural gas should include the volume, as measured in cubic meters, and not British thermal units, CBP's laboratories and scientific services directorate said in a Aug. 29 memorandum. The memo, which was released in a Sept. 25 CSMS message, was in response to a request for technical advice from the Center of Excellence and Expertise for gas.
Failure by CBP to provide notice of suspension of liquidation to a surety does not automatically result in deemed liquidation, CBP said in a July 14 ruling, HQ H097501. CBP shot down a number of arguments submitted by the surety, American Home Assurance Co. (AHAC), as part of a headquarters further review of a protest. AHAC objected to a bill it received from CBP that included antidumping duties some eight years after the original entries, saying "that the subject entries were deemed liquidated, that the statute of limitations for collecting under AHAC’s bond expired, that CBP improperly assessed interest, and that CBP improperly calculated the amount of antidumping duties owed."
Most terminals of the Port of Los Angeles were set to resume operations on Sept. 24 following a fire, the port said. "Only the Pasha terminal at Berth 177, the location of the fire, will remain closed," it said. The fire started during the night of Sept. 22 and forced the closure of all container terminals on Sept. 23 due to air quality concerns.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Sept. 23 with 79 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 183,726. The most recent ruling is dated 09/19/14.
CBP issued its Sept. 24 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 38), which contains the following ruling actions:
The Federal Maritime Commission posted the agenda for its Oct. 1 public forum focused on port congestion. The forum will include panel discussions on carriers, trucking and labor, among other issues, the agenda said.