Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated March 8 with 132 rulings, bringing the total number of searchable rulings to 176,412. The most recent ruling is dated 03/18/2013.
New York Port locations 4770, 4775, 4776, 4777, 4779, and 4755 are formally in inactive status, effective March 18, said CBP in a CSMS message. CBP won't allow for any CBP transactions, including export, import, reports, or other transaction types or activity to be performed using those following port codes, it said.
CBP posted a document to its website that provides side-by-side comparisons of 20 U.S. free trade agreements and preferential trade programs. This updated version adds information from the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (PATPA), which was implemented in October (see 12103121).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website March 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.)
An entry summary line may require the reporting of both an antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) case and filers should check the applicable cash deposit instructions or contact the Commerce Department to confirm the applicable AD/CVD cases said CBP in a CSMS message Automated Broker Interface (ABI) filers. "Filers should not rely on the 'related case #' field in the ACE AD/CVD case management information to determine a related AD or CVD case," said CBP. "If the “related case #” field is blank, a related AD or CVD case may still be required."
Sequestration won't effect the 2013 roll-out of the remaining Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), said CBP during a conference call with industry, according to a notice from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). CBP also said there won't "be effects on CEE staff," said the NCBFAA. CBP previously raised the possibility that sequestration could slow the openings of the new CEEs (see 13022528).
Correction: Elena Ryan is the Director of Trade Facilitation and Administration at CBP (see 13031422).
CBP is extending the comment period to April 17 for an existing information collection on applications for Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) admission and activity permits. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or to the information collected.
There have been fewer outages in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) in January and February this year compared to the same months in 2012, said CBP in a notice on its Website. There were also fewer hours of unscheduled outages in 2012 compared to 2011, the agency said. CBP issued the notice in response to comments from the trade community "pointing to a perceived increase" in ACE outages, it said.