CBP has posted an updated version of its TRQ/TPL "threshold to fill" list, a quick reference to monitor TRQs and TPLs that are approaching their restraint limit or have filled their in-quota (low) rate. The list is divided into two sections: those that are at least 85% filled and those that are filled.
PierPass has issued a reminder that on August 1, 2011, the adjustment to the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will go into effect. The current Traffic Mitigation Fee at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase to $60 per TEU / $120 per FEU for containers moving Monday-Friday, 3 a.m.-6 p.m. The fee increase will help to offset the increased cost to operate PierPass OffPeak gates.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that Global Entry kiosks are now available at CBP preclearance at Vancouver International Airport and Ottawa’s MacDonald-Cartier Airport, and will be available at Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport and Toronto’s Lester B. Pearson International Airport by September 2011. The placement of Global Entry kiosks at Canadian preclearance locations is part of the integration of the Global Entry and NEXUS Trusted Traveler programs.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message stating that it a programming change has been implemented to address an issue in the comments field (R03/K1) that was detected in some of CBP’s status notifications (RC/350). In some instances extra spaces were sent creating a carriage return in the message to the trade. (CSMS #11-000164)
On July 25, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that a New Hampshire woman, Elisane Garcia, in a drug smuggling and money laundering case, was sentenced to approximately 10 months (time served) and two years of supervised release for illegally importing "Brazilian diet pills" into the U.S. Investigators intercepted thousands of pills which contained fluoxetine and chlordiazepoxide, the same active ingredients as Prozac and Librium, as well as fenproporex, a drug not approved for marketing in the U.S. The pills were intended for delivery to Garcia from Brazilian suppliers that allegedly received wire transfers from her totaling nearly $45,000.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that it will enforce a federal quarantine order beginning July 30, 2011 that restricts the importation of rice into the U.S. from countries with known Khapra beetle infestations.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages posted to CBP's Web site, along with the case number(s), period covered, and CBP message number, is provided below. These messages are available by searching on the listed CBP message number at http://addcvd.cbp.gov.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is seeking additional comments on extension of an existing information collection on CBP Forms I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) and I-94W (Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure) and the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) that CBP will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval. CBP is proposing that this information collection be revised by adding a data element for “Country of Birth” to ESTA and to CBP Form I-94W. CBP published the proposed information collection for comment in May 2011 and is now allowing an additional 30 days, until August 25, 2011, to comment.
On July 21, 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other U.S. and Mexican officials joined to break ground on the new Tornillo-Guadalupe international port of entry in El Paso, County, Texas. The project, which is expected to be complete in the summer of 2013, will replace the existing Fabens port of entry with a new six-lane border-crossing facility capable of serving vehicular, pedestrian and commercial traffic. CBP expects the new crossing will also alleviate congestion at other area border crossings by providing an additional crossing option for commercial vehicles.
On July 19, 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a CSMS message stating that it has published a Federal Register notice announcing a new start date of no earlier than August 1, 2011 for the National Customs Automation Program Test (pilot) of Automated Manifest Capabilities for Ocean and Rail Carrier in ACE (eManifest: Ocean/Rail or M1). CBP advises that this date is in reference to the commencement of the pilot and is not related to trade testing, which began in May 2011 and has met CBP’s success criteria. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/18/11 news, 11071821, for BP summary of Federal Register notice.) (CSMS #11-000163)