CBP requested public comments in response to a petition from a domestic party, Brennan Industries, to reclassify hydraulic system fittings. Comments are due April 11, said CBP in its notice (here). Currently, these fittings are classified as ''a tube or pipe fitting of iron or steel, other, other, other'' under subheading 7307.99.50 with a duty rate of 4.3%. However, the petitioner contends that the proper classification for these objects is under duty-free subheading 8412.90.90 as “Other engines and motors, and parts thereof: Parts: Other." Brennan said that some competitors "are classifying all or a substantial portion of similar fittings as parts of hydraulic systems" under subheading 8412.90.90, which puts the company at a competitive disadvantage.
CBP outlined its recent enforcement work related to antidumping and countervailing duties in an AD/CVD Update for November that includes statistics for fiscal year 2015 (here). CBP said it "carried out 28,783 entry summary reviews on potential AD/CVD violations and identified over $29 million in AD/CVD noncompliance." Products associated with the most AD/CVD violations during FY2015 were tires, solar cells, and pencils, CBP said. The agency said its lawyers were involved in over 350 AD/CVD cases during the fiscal year and scored several major legal victories. "For example, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with CBP that sureties are liable for penalty interest" on all customs bonds, including AD/CVD bonds, it said. The agency's Garlic Antidumping Enforcement Team also successfully defended a requirement for additional single transaction bonds with the Court of International Trade. As a result, CBP saw "shipments valued at over $5.8 million exported back to the country of origin as importers did not want to file additional bonds; shipments valued at over $6.9 million exported or destroyed; and shipments valued at over $4 million were released after an importer posted a $1 million bond with CIT," it said. CBP also highlighted the agency's enforcement on steel imports (see 1601250019).
The six Centers of Excellence and Expertise that aren't yet handling the post-release processing for entire industries will begin to do so on March 23, a CBP spokeswoman said. While there was no formal announcement, the spokeswoman confirmed the plans in an email. That schedule is slightly faster than what the agency said previously (see 1511090014). Those CEEs cover Automotive and Aerospace, Agriculture and Prepared Products, Base Metals, Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising, Industrial and Manufacturing Materials, and Machinery. Those six CEEs will join four others -- Apparel, Footwear and Textiles, Electronics, Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals, and Petroleum and Minerals -- that already handle the post-release processing for the full industries.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Feb. 4, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Department of Homeland Security issued on Feb. 5 final regulations setting supplemental standards of ethical conduct for its employees. The agency’s final rule (here) includes provisions requiring employees to report allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. For CBP employees, it prohibits any employment or activities in support of or on behalf of a customs broker, carrier, bonded warehouse, foreign-trade zone board, cartman, customs law firm, or business related to importation, exportation or agriculture matters related to CBP’s mission. It also requires any CBP employee to report to CBP if their spouse or dependent is engaged in such activities.
CBP is requesting comments by March 9 on an existing information collection for applications for exportation of articles under special bond. CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or information collected.
CBP published the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties (here). For the quarter which began Jan. 1 and ends March. 31, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3 percent for non-corporations, and the rate of underpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and non-corporations. These interest rates are subject to change for the calendar quarter beginning April 1 and ending June 30, said CBP.
CBP is requesting comments by March 9 on an existing information collection for country of origin marking requirements for containers or holders. CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or information collected.
CBP released its Feb. 3 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 50, No. 5) (here). While it does not contain any rulings, it does include recent CBP notices and court decisions.