The ACE Certification system was experiencing technical issues the morning of Monday, Aug. 19, and was not available, CBP said. Technical investigation was continuing, and CBP said users would be informed by CSMS when the issue is resolved.

CBP agriculture specialists in Baltimore issued an Emergency Action Notification to a Manassas, Va., importer about seven boxes of chicken skeletons from China, CBP said Aug. 15. The CBP notification required that the seven boxes be re-exported or destroyed, due to concerns that the “uncertified skeletons may pose a potential threat” of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza to the U.S. poultry industry.

The Food And Drug Administration will delete some of the product codes for the Center for Veterinary Medicine Products, effective Sept. 30, according to a CSMS message (CSMS #13-000412) from CBP. The use of those codes after that date will result in a data transmission error, CBP said. The product codes to be deleted are:

CBP has issued a number of liquidated damages as part of an increased importer security filing (ISF) enforcement effort, an agency spokesman said. "Field locations are currently operationalizing the ISF enforcement guidance provided by headquarters," he said. "Since July 9, 2013, CBP has seen an increase in both the overall ISF compliance rate and ISF related holds. To date, CBP has initiated numerous liquidated damage claims for ISF violations." A customs law firm recently said the agency's headquarters, which will review all ISF-related liquidated damages issued by the ports for the first year, was in the process of reviewing about 100 liquidated damages claims (see 13081616).

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 Aug. 15, 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.)

A Land Rover Defender seized by CBP officers as an illegal and unsafe import was destroyed in an undisclosed Maryland salvage yard on Aug. 13, CBP reported. The vehicle was one of dozens that violated highway safety standards, including standards requiring airbags, CBP said. The Defender was one of many vehicles stopped at ports of entry in cities including Philadelphia, Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Tacoma, Wash. Such Defenders were “represented on import entry documents as being 25 years of age or older, but may actually be newer vehicles whose Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) have been fraudulently altered.”

CBP headquarters is in the process of reviewing about 100 liquidated damages claims so far issued by the ports as part of an increase to Importer Security Filing (ISF) enforcement, according to a newsletter from Tuttle Law Offices. The agency has already approved some of the liquidated damages, the law firm said. Following several years of delayed enforcement of ISF provisions, CBP said as of July 9 it would begin issuing liquidated damages for ISF non-compliance (see 13062613). CBP didn't return a request for comment.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Aug. 14, 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.)

The Port of Seattle Assistant Port Director of Trade Operations Judy Staudt will be out of the office on extended leave, said CBP's Seattle Field Office in a Trade Information Notice. Entry Branch Chief Michael Urbick will move into Staudt's position in an acting capacity, effective Aug. 19, the notice said.