CBP's proposal to eliminate "blanket certification" and require information for all chemical imports about whether Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulations apply seems to contradict ongoing efforts to streamline trade processing, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said (here). "We urge CBP to include an exemption from the negative certification for chemicals that are clearly identified as a pesticide or other chemical not subject to TSCA," the NCBFAA said in comments to CBP in response to the agency's proposal involving the use of ACE for goods subject to TSCA regulations (see 1608260032). "In our view, requiring a negative certification for these non-TSCA products is an overreach that is incompatible" with the 2014 Executive Order on streamlining trade processing, the group said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Given that the merchandise processing fee (MPF) for informal entries filed for release on goods valued below the de minimis level are minimal, CBP should waive the fees for such entries, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments to the agency. CBP requested input on how it should approach the "release from manifest" process, commonly known as a Section 321 procedure, for goods under the new $800 de minimis level (see 1608250029). "The NCBFAA believes that qualifying merchandise should be afforded the duty and tax exemptions but entered via ACE and [International Trade Data System] entry procedures thereby assuring the proper data collection and adherence to CBP and Partner Government Agency import requirements," it said.
CBP again delayed its mandatory use date for ACE drawback, reconciliation, duty deferral, statements and liquidation, the agency said on Sept. 28 (here). “In order to allow additional time for all stakeholders to prepare for this transition, and to provide the opportunity to solicit and receive public comment on the associated regulatory changes, CBP is rescheduling this transition which was previously scheduled for October 29, 2016,” it said. “CBP is targeting January 2017 for the revised deployment and mandatory date and will provide additional clarification regarding the precise transition date in the coming weeks.”
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept.19-23 in case they were missed.
CBP should develop a separate "Section 321 module" for brokers to allow for easier manifest release requests on low-value imports regulated by other agencies, the Express Association of America said in comments to CBP (here). The comments were in response to CBP's regulatory changes to the de minimis value threshold (see 1608250029), a provision of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA) of 2015. Among other questions, CBP sought information on how it should approach the "release from manifest" process, commonly known as a Section 321 procedure, for goods under the new $800 de minimis level when the manifest doesn't include information required by other agencies. Unlike express couriers, customs brokers currently cannot electronically designate Section 321 clearances via manifest (see 1605160030).
CBP expanded the Agricultural Marketing Service's Partner Government Agency message set ACE pilot (see 1508050019), CBP said in a CSMS message (here). "All customs broker and self-filers who submit AMS-regulated products at the Ports of L.A./Long Beach, Miami, and Philadelphia are now eligible to join the AMS pilot and begin submitting the AMS PGA message set through ACE/ITDS," CBP said.
Partner Government Agency Message Set cargo release entries were up by 15 percent in August, up to nearly a million entries, CBP said in its monthly ACE adoption report (here). CBP also reported ACE availability during the month at 97.3% of the time, "excluding planned maintenance."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: