CBP released a revised version of technical requirements for filing ocean export manifest through the Document Image System. CBP recently began expanding the DIS export manifest pilot program. CBP said in a CSMS message the revised document provides guidance on the data and technical format required by CBP on Export Manifest email submissions to DIS. Carriers should refer to official government notifications provided via formal letters and FRNs for legal guidelines. The contents of this document do not seek to supersede those guidelines. The revised document is (here).
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Aug. 23 with 346 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 173,742. The most recent ruling is dated 8/21/2012.
A dispute over a controversial program in which some excise taxes paid on rum imports help U.S. rum producers threatens to bubble over into a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO), said the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA) in a release. WIRSPA represents the rum producers in the CARIFORUM, a group of 15 Caribbean countries, and the Dominican Republic.
CBP posted a record of changes since Aug. 8 to the ACE ABI CATAIR (Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements). The only changes were to the In-Bond chapter. The change log is (here). The full CATAIR is (here). The In-Bond chapter is (here).
CBP Acting Commissioner David Aguilar praised CBP's work with the trade community in creating the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), in a speech for the World Customs Organization, according to the written remarks released by CBP. Aguilar said CBP's "Trade Transformation" initiatives, including the CEEs, Simplified Entry and Air Cargo Advance Screening, have been so far successful thanks to close work with the trade community. Aguilar said such work should "be considered as the WCO further develops the Economic Competitiveness Package." A CBP spokesman said Aguilar delivered the speech in June.
In the Aug. 22 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 35), CBP published a notice of its modification of rulings and revocation of treatment regarding the tariff classification of recovered refrigerant gas for preferential tariff treatment under NAFTA..
A joint effort with by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and officers from the Federal Food and Drug Administration and Puerto Rican law enforcement groups resulted in major counterfeit goods seizures in Puerto Rico, said ICE in a press release. The efforts turned up more than $18 million in counterfeit contact lenses and merchandise during the execution of several search warrants in eight different municipalities of Puerto Rico.
The CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) recommended Seattle and San Francisco as possible sites for the coming Center for Excellence and Expertise on Apparel, Footwear, and Textile. CBP sought input from COAC and industry working groups on where to locate the CEEs. According to an industry executive involved in the process, the working groups submitted their reports to CBP Aug. 21 and CBP is expected to make its final decisions on the locations by Oct. 1.
The U.S. Postal Service will require that customs data be electronically transmitted for international mail bearing a customs declaration form when the items are paid with a permit imprint, it said in a notice scheduled to run in the Federal Register Aug. 23. Comments on the change are due Sept. 24.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues: