This forum in its fifth year has made strong progress in the areas of visa reform, aviation liberalization and introductory steps toward a bilateral tax treaty. The Department of Commerce and the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade are working to develop an agenda under the U.S. -- Brazil Commercial Dialogue to include topics such as; green technology and customs modernization.
The COAC Trade Facilitation Subcommittee met with U.S Customs and Border Protection officials on June 15, 2010 to discuss one of CBP’s top Account Based Processing projects -- Centers of Expertise.
Fifty-two organizations have issued a second consensus statement which further develops their views and recommendations on making the Lacey Act declaration for imported plants and plant products more “business friendly”.
The Secretary General of the Secretariat for Economic Integration in Central America (SIECA) and the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, signed an MOU in Guatemala on May 25, 2010 on Customs modernization through the adoption and implementation of WCO instruments and tools. SIECA is composed of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
The Asian Development Bank and World Customs Organization have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the strategic partnership between their two organizations to facilitate cooperation more closely in areas relating to Customs modernization and reform, capacity building, and research and analysis. (Press release, dated 05/04/10, available at http://www.wcoomd.org/press/?v=1&lid=1&cid=7&id=209)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a notice providing an overview of its Trade Compliance Measurement (TCM)1 program, which CBP has relied on to provide an objective status of trade compliance and certain CBP controls since 1995.
Canada and India have signed two Memorandums of Understanding: (i) a MOU to launch a joint study group to formulate the parameters of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA); and (ii) a MOU on Energy Cooperation. (Notice, dated 11/17/09, available at http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do;jsessionid=ac1b105330d85644cc998b534d26a1cb804fd4c3f8a3.e38RbhaLb3qNe38TaxuMa30Sai0?crtr.sj1D=&mthd=tp&crtr.mnthndVl=&nid=496789&crtr.dpt1D=&crtr.tp1D=1&crtr.lc1D=&crtr.yrStrtVl=&crtr.kw=&crtr.dyStrtVl=&crtr.aud1D=&crtr)
Forty trade groups1 have signed a letter urging Congress to request that U.S. Customs and Border Protection conduct a prototype program on its "10+2" rulemaking prior to the issuance of a final rule.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is announcing that USDA has authorized CBP to combine the Specialty Sugar tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for periods 5 and 6 into one limit as period 5 opened on August 17, 2006 and has not filled, and period 6 opened on August 31, 2006 and did not oversubscribe at opening moment. This change is effective immediately. A specialty sugar certificate is still required for this now combined TRQ. (QBT-06-546, dated 09/01/06, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/qbts/qbt2006/06_546.ctt/06_546.doc )
On August 17, 2006, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Public Law (P.L.) 109-280).