CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Oct. 2, 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 addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)

CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Sept. 30. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc.

Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Sept. 30 with 122 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 179,216. The most recent ruling is dated 09/27/2013.

The ongoing government shutdown is preventing the CBP issuance of customs seals to carrier warehouse and ramp employees, according to Elizabeth Shaver, director of cargo services at Airlines for America. "Customs seals issuance is considered administrative support, and therefore not an excepted function," she said in an update on the effects of the shutdown sent by the Airforwarders Association. "It is recommended that carriers work with their local CBP port directors to find an accommodation to minimize the impact on carrier operations," she said.

CBP is seeking comments on a proposed extension of an existing collection of information on the Small Vessel Reporting System (SVRS). SVRS is a program that allows certain participants using small pleasure boats to report their arrival telephonically instead of having to appear in person for inspection by a CBP officer each time they enter the U.S. CBP estimates 8,840 respondents at 30 minutes each.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Sept. 30, 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 addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)

CBP made available a full report on the Aug. 7 meeting of the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC). Among the subcommittee recommendations at the meeting were:

CBP had to cut spending by 5 percent, or $595 million in FY 2013 due to funding sequestration required by Congress, according to the Office of Management and Budget's Report to Congress on FY 2013 Sequestration. Other relevant cuts, all in the 5 percent range, include $327 million for the Transportation Security Administration, $295 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and $295 million for the U.S. Coast Guard. OMB said it considers the cuts "deeply destructive to national security, domestic investments, and core Government functions."

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Sept. 27, 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 addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)