U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a press release that recaps some of the highlights from the December 7, 2011 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection, otherwise known as COAC. Among other things the release lists the nine brokers, large and small, selected for the Simplified Entry test, along with their associated importer stakeholders such as LL Bean and Lear Corporation. The release also notes that after Commissioner Bersin left the meeting early to travel to another meeting in El Paso, Deputy Commissioner Aguilar stepped in, ending the meeting on his own note of inspiration. "Based on the energy, the momentum, the interaction, and the dynamic nature of the relationship that has developed, we have had a really good year, but I think it will be an even better year next year."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that effective December 4, 2011, Kevin Harriger is its new executive director for agriculture inspection programs at the Office of Field Operations. Prior to assuming his duties as executive director, Harriger was the deputy executive director for CBP’s office of Agriculture Operational Oversight. He transferred from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) unit to CBP at the creation of the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. (CBP press release dated 12/09/11)
In the November 30, 2011 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 45, No. 49), CBP published two notices on its modification of rulings and revocation of treatment regarding a steel furniture lifter and azithromycin.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message providing a projected timeline for decommissioning the Automated Manifest System (AMS) for rail and sea manifests and transitioning to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). CBP anticipates that the Federal Register Notice naming ACE as the only CBP-approved electronic data interchange (EDI) for the transmission of rail and sea manifests will be published by the end of the first quarter of calendar year 2012 and that rail and sea manifest capabilities for the AMS in the Automated Commercial System (ACS) will be decommissioned within six months of that publication date.
In December 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection updated its eight Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on voided Importer ID input Records (CBP Form 5106), making one substantive change. In the third FAQ, CBP clarifies that acceptable proof of an Employee Identification Number (EIN) includes a preprinted document that is received from the IRS.
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of December 5, 2011.
This summary report highlights the most active textile and apparel tariff preference levels1 from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s “Quota Weekly Commodity Status Report.” It also lists the TRQ commodities on CBP’s weekly “TRQ/TPL Threshold to Fill List.”
In the November 30, 2011 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 45, No. 49), CBP published a notice on its revocation of a ruling and treatment regarding the classification of liquid dispensing systems.
CBP's Office of Information and Technology has posted an updated list of companies/persons offering ABI data processing services to the trade community as of December 5, 2011.