Reconciling U.S., Mexican and Canadian de minimis levels, and lowering the U.S.’s current $800 level if necessary, could prove difficult within NAFTA renegotations, Jon Kent, a lobbyist for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said Sept. 11 during the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference. While some believe that raised de minimis levels are good for U.S. small businesses, Kent believes that’s a “fairy tale” that rapidly increased imports. “It chews up a lot of business,” Kent said of the U.S.’s now $800 de minimis level.
CBP will push back the mandatory use date for e214 foreign-trade zones admissions in ACE to Dec. 9, Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference on Sept. 11 in Washington. The delay of the deadline, previously set for Sept. 16, comes in response to concerns from industry, McAleenan said. The agency planned to make a formal announcement on Sept. 11, he said.
CBP will postpone until Dec. 9 the mandatory use date for e214 foreign-trade zones admissions in ACE, Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference on Sept. 11 in Washington. The delay of the deadline, previously set for Sept. 16, comes in response to concerns from industry, McAleenan said. CBP will make a formal announcement on Sept. 11, he said.
CBP is working on “bulletproofing” its information technology systems in the wake of availability issues for ACE during the week of July 31, CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said in a Sept. 6 speech at the U.S. Air Cargo Industry Affairs Summit in Washington. The agency intends to put in place “additional redundancy” and “active failover,” he said. “We need to take the gold standard to the platinum level.” McAleenan has said the availability issues were the result of faulty hardware, not a programming issue or a cyberattack (see 1708230032). Separately, he said he expects to send rules formally establishing the Air Cargo Advance Screening Program for clearance from the Office of Management and Budget by the end of the month.
CBP and other agencies issued updated guidance on cargo processing affected by port closures caused by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. For weekly estimated entries receiving an error message due to the entry date being more than seven days from the filing date due to system downtime, “it may be best to adjust the elected date to match the current filing date and notify the port about the change as required,” CBP said. “Trade partners and CBP should make note in their records that this occurred to avoid post audit problems later.”
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP and other agencies involved in trade still have some ways to go before resolving an ongoing debate on how to describe goods in Section 321 shipments, said Christa Brzozowski, deputy assistant secretary for trade and transport at the Department of Homeland Security, at the U.S. Air Cargo Industry Affairs Summit Sept. 6 in Washington. The government still needs to work through process issues related to what goods are eligible for expedited release, and what role partner government agencies (PGAs) will have in the process, before considering whether to require 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers or written descriptors, she said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: