Upcoming NAFTA renegotiations should result in the prohibition of customs duties on digital transmissions, Canadian and Mexican de minimis levels consistent with the U.S. threshold, and a ban on burdensome customs procedures, the Internet Association said in an outline of priorities for the expected trilateral discussions (here). NAFTA should ensure governments can’t add extra charges to the flow of music, video, software, e-books and games across borders, the association said. World Trade Organization members have agreed to a temporary moratorium on such duties, which some countries have threatened to apply, the association said. With regard to de minimis, the “artificially low” levels of Mexico and Canada disproportionately impact internet-enabled U.S. businesses that regularly ship low-value items, especially small companies, the group said. NAFTA should bring Canada’s and Mexico’s thresholds up to the U.S. $800 level, the association said.
Textile and apparel associations are readying a push for more structure in the short-supply process and the allowance of material cumulation from other free trade agreements within NAFTA, industry executives said in recent interviews. Although the Trump administration's interest in changes in NAFTA’s Textile and Apparel Chapter may be minimal, there might be some room during renegotiation to modify the agreement’s short supply list criteria and deadlines, U.S. Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) President Julia Hughes said in an interview. “There essentially have been no additions to the short supply list since NAFTA's implementation,” as all three member governments must approve any addition to the list, an American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) spokesman said in an email. NAFTA allows non-North American-originated fabrics on its short supply list to qualify for preferential treatment if cut and sewn in one or more NAFTA territories. The list comprises fabrics not produced in commercial quantities in the U.S.
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The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to continue its 15 million board feet de minimis threshold under the softwood lumber information order, it said (here). As provided in the 2011 final rule creating the softwood lumber order (see 11080216), importers that import less than 15 million board feet of softwood lumber are exempt from assessments, as long as they apply annually for a certificate of exemption and provide documentation to support their request. A federal court in 2016 struck down the 15 million board foot threshold, finding the number arbitrary, but left the softwood lumber regulations in place while AMS reconsiders. AMS is now proposing to keep the same threshold, but providing further analysis. Comments are due July 31.
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- The increase in the de minimis value threshold last year seems already to be driving a shift in international trade patterns, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner for the CBP Office of Trade, during a May 25 interview at the West Coast Trade Symposium. "What we're seeing is significant changes in supply chains," reflected in the growing number of Section 321 entries, she said. For example, one port in Alabama with few CBP officers "is suddenly getting this flood because it's close to a distribution center," she said. Likely, that's a result of container-loads full of under $800 small packages that qualify for de minimis, she said.
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- CBP is looking at a wide range of options for meeting the goals of the March executive order (see 1704030033) meant to resolve issues of unpaid antidumping and countervailing duties, said Troy Riley, executive director-Commercial Targeting and Enforcement in the CBP Office of Trade. Riley, who is leading implementation of the executive order, discussed several things being considered, including suspending importer of record numbers that haven't been used in years and new bonding schemes, during a panel on May 24 at the West Coast Trade Symposium. Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner for the CBP Office of Trade, alluded to the likelihood of additional orders along the same lines. "My guess is we have not seen the end of" trade-focused executive orders, said Smith, who moderated the panel.
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Enhanced trade enforcement provisions, the ability to collaborate on trade facilitation issues and “modernized rules of origin” are among issues CBP would like to see included in NAFTA negotiations, Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said during the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 24. “There's a lot of ways CBP can contribute to that dialogue,” he said. “The way this is unfolding with the importance and access being placed on CBP, I think we'll have that opportunity.” McAleenan also said the timing for the final deployment of ACE should be "announced pretty soon."
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A lack of clarity on "a unique identifier for supply chain operators crossing borders" is limiting the potential for trusted trader programs internationally, CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said during a May 17 speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Supply Chain Summit. "We've been working so hard to recognize Authorized Economic Operator programs globally with partners, we've entered into Mutual Recognition Agreements, we're intending to expand them," but "they are not having dramatic operational value for our trade partnership," he said. McAleenan has been pushing to standardize unique identifiers (see 1612020024).
Liberalized tariff-shift rules and higher de minimis levels for Canada and Mexico could be included in the expected NAFTA renegotiation, industry sources said in recent interviews. As the administration works toward the statutorily required notice to Congress of plans to reopen NAFTA discussions, law firms and industry stakeholders are discussing what provisions they will lobby for the administration to change or add to any completed agreement. The new administration provides an opportunity for companies to “push outside the traditional boundary” of trade negotiations, and companies’ personnel who were traditionally compliance-focused are now in a “new frontier” of engagement in government-business dialogues, Crowell & Moring attorney Jini Koh said in an interview. “I think that’s new to companies.”