CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 16-20 in case they were missed.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Federal agencies with a hand in regulating trade released their regulatory schedules as part of the Spring 2016 Unified Agenda (here). Alongside customs regulations set for publication by the Treasury Department (see 1605230009 and Department of Homeland Security 1605190046), the Department of Agriculture and National Marine Fisheries Service set an ambitious agenda of trade-related rulemaking, including new seafood permit and filing requirements and Lacey Act forfeiture regulations. Other agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and EPA, continue to list regulations on drug imports and formaldehyde standards that have been in the pipeline for years without activity, scheduling their publication with the next several months.
The Treasury Department published its spring 2016 regulatory agenda for CBP (here), which mentions a new proposed rulemaking to eliminate "hybrid" customs filings. The proposal (here) includes "new regulations that will require filers submitting entry or entry summary data electronically in ACE also to file associated [International Trade Data System] Agency data electronically in ACE, subject to limited exceptions," it said. "This rule will make each discrete entry or entry summary more uniform, as each transaction will be filed entirely in electronic format or entirely in paper format. This will enhance the ability of the U.S. Government to enforce the legal requirements pertaining to those transactions."
CBP has identified an issue that has been “regularly” causing ACE cargo release status notifications (SO messages) to be delayed by up to an hour, it said in a CSMS message. A fix for the issue will be deployed May 26, it said (here). “If these delays are encountered prior to this deployment, please wait one hour to see if the SO message is returned before reporting the issue to your Client Representative,” said CBP.
On July 23, CBP will begin requiring filing in ACE of entries and entry summaries for most remaining entry types, including entry types with quota merchandise, it said in a notice set for publication in the Federal Register (here). As of that date, ACE cargo release and entry summary will be mandatory for entry types 02, 07, 12, 21, 22, 31, 32, 34, 38, 61, 62, 63, 69 and 70, said CBP. The legacy Automated Commercial System (ACS) will no longer be available. Entry types 01, 03, 06, 11, 23, 51 and 52 are already set to become mandatory (and in some cases, already have) by that date.
Strengthening ties with partner government agencies and industry has helped CBP to seize shipments that violate intellectual property rights and the greater engagement is hoped to translate into disrupting dumped steel shipments, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said on May 18 during the Global Supply Chain Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (here). The new interagency task force will complement CBP’s recent use of single transaction bonds and imposing of “live entry” requirements on higher risk imports to protect government revenue and to find and deter evasion (see 1603030015)., he said. On May 2, CBP announced the creation of the unit to combat steel dumping and forced labor shipments (see 1605030032).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Form 7501s stamped by CBP for vehicle imports don't signify compliance with other government agency statutes and regulations, said CBP in a CSMS message (here). There's some confusion about this issue and the CBP stamp and signature only means that the importer completed the CBP import processing and provided proof of ownership by presenting the original certificate of title, or a certified copy of the originals," said CBP. "Customs brokers may print an ACE electronic equivalent of the CF 7501 for CBP to sign and stamp," for clients, though Departments of Motor Vehicles may notice a difference between the 7501 and the equivalent, CBP said. "For the purpose of individuals registering their vehicles in the United States, CBP will only stamp a paper CF 7501 or its ACE electronic equivalent upon request. CBP will not stamp any other form/document as substitution for the CF 7501 and CBP will not stamp or sign any other U.S. Government agencies’ forms (e.g., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration HS-7 Declaration Form or the Environmental Protection Agency 3520-1 Form). As CBP goes forward with ACE, "CBP will be exploring opportunities to streamline this process with the DMVs; however, this policy will remain the same until further notice," the agency said.