The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of Nov. 13 (some may also be given separate headlines):
CBP plans to launch a “proof of concept and/or pilot” in fiscal year 2018 on the potential applications of blockchain technology for trade, according to a document from the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee’s Emerging Technologies Working Group. The agency is currently working with the trade community to develop “use cases” wherein blockchain could improve trade processes, and held an invitation-only blockchain workshop in October to discuss ideas. “There appears to be opportunity among the trade community to either track/validate goods in their supply chain to support due diligence or potentially to support verifiable claims to CBP for audit/compliance purposes,” the paper says.
The Commerce Department announced its negative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigation on citric acid and certain citrate salts from Thailand (C-549-834). Commerce calculated de minimis CV duty rates for all Thai exporters under investigation, and will not suspend liquidation or collect cash deposits for entries of citric acid from Thailand at this time. Commerce may still change its mind in the final determination, which is currently due March 14. Antidumping duty investigations continue on citric acid from Thailand, Belgium and Colombia, with Commerce's preliminary AD duty determination due Dec. 29 (see 1710310013).
A memorandum of agreement between the Commerce Department and the Department of Homeland Security signed last week includes plans to work together in looking at and updating customs processes to help facilitate e-commerce. “Having the infrastructure in place to help U.S. companies compete for these e-commerce sales is crucial to our nation’s position in the global marketplace,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in an Oct. 19 news release. Specifically, DHS seeks to "develop a position on the de minimis threshold increase" to reflect CBP "reprogramming requirements, as well as changes to DHS’s and other partner government agencies’ risk analysis processes for shipments no longer subject to customs duties," the agreement says. "DHS aims to ensure that risk measures applied to low value goods do not unnecessarily burden trade, as Congress intended."
The Agricultural Marketing Service will continue its 15 million board feet de minimis threshold under the softwood lumber information order, it said in a final rule. 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 had struck down the 15 million board feet threshold, finding the number arbitrary, but left the softwood lumber regulations in place while AMS reconsidered. The new final rule takes effect Nov. 27.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 16-20 in case they were missed.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 10-13 in case they were missed.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Any two-track solution to Section 321 filing in both the Automated Broker Interface and the Automated Manifest System must have the same data requirements in each, customs brokers said during a panel discussion at the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 13. Requiring a more detailed data set, while maintaining the current stripped-down data elements in AMS, would mean filers would be incentivized to continue clearing Section 321 entries off the manifest, the brokers said.
The U.S., Canada and Mexico have agreed in principle to NAFTA language that would forbid countries from requiring paper certificates of origin to qualify for NAFTA treatment, and Canada and Mexico are now considering increasing their de minimis levels closer to the U.S.’s $800 level, according to lobbyists close to negotiations. The NAFTA parties easily agreed to language to eliminate the use of paper documents in any customs processes that currently call for such credentials, including paper certificates of origin, said a lobbyist who is a cleared adviser for NAFTA negotiations. The countries hope that this will help drive a shared goal to modernize trade facilitation and everyday customs procedures across North America, he said. Parties are conducting the fourth round of NAFTA renegotiations Oct. 11-17 in Arlington, Virginia.
China’s customs regime could benefit from standardized procedures across all ports as well as joint work between the U.S. government and Chinese Customs to stop counterfeits from leaving China, trade groups said in comments to the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) regarding China’s adherence to its World Trade Organization commitments.The U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB) detailed several aspects of how China can improve its customs administration, calling for the U.S. to ensure China posts annual changes to its Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) at least three months before the effective date, establishment of a bilateral customs dialog, and private-sector sharing of best practices to enhance an automated clearance process laden with “uncertainty and inefficiencies.”