U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 which contains certain performance and financial data concerning CBP's progress in achieving, among other things, the six strategic goals that are set forth in CBP's Strategic Plan for FY 2005 -2010.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site the December 2005 issue of its Modernization Monthly newsletter, which discusses, among other things, new Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) capabilities coming in 2006 and 2007.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site notes from the Trade Support Network's (TSN's) Plenary Session that was held on September 26-29, 2005.
CBP has announced that the 2006 tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on animal feed containing milk or milk derivatives as provided for in HTS Chapter 23, Additional U.S. Note (AUSN) 2 will open on Tuesday, January 3, 2006 at 12 noon E.S.T., or its equivalent in other time zones. The aggregate low-duty quantity is 7,399,700 kg and the below-listed countries have the following minimum access amounts:
On December 13, 2005, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an administrative message (Adm: 05-1423) announcing that the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) had identified approximately 6,000 standard alpha carrier codes (SCAC) that had not renewed their subscriptions with the NMFTA by the June 30 expiration date, nor in the past six months. CBP stated that on December 19, 2005, it would be updating the CBP carrier code file to remove any unrenewed codes. CBP noted that deletion of the unrenewed codes could impact Automated Manifest System (AMS) and Automated Broker Interface (ABI) processing.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its weekly quota commodity report as of December 12, 2005. This report includes tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on various products such as beef, tuna, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa powder, tobacco, certain JFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, UAFTA and UCFTA TRQs, etc. This report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, CBTPA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA (CFTA) tariff preference levels (TPLs) for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (CBP's weekly quota commodity report, dated 12/12/05, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
CBP has issued an ABI administrative message reminding the trade community that it now allows brokers with Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Portal accounts to pay duties and fees on a monthly statement for all of their importer clients and that importers are no longer required to establish an ACE account to participate in the periodic monthly statement (PMS) program. Instead, importers may now establish Non-portal accounts, which is automatic for those that are C-TPAT participants. CBP adds that it is simple and free for a broker to establish an ACE account, and comes with many other benefits, such as broker and importer statements, multiple financial reports, etc. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/25/05 news, 05102505, for BP summary of CBP general notice announcing these changes to Periodic Monthly Statement.) (ABI message 05-1370, dated 12/01/05, available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2005/2005-1370.ADM.)
In a news article on the U.S.-China Textile Agreement, the Wall Street Journal reports that this Agreement will cap the year-over-year growth of the 34 clothing categories it covers to between 10% and 15% in 2006; between 12.5% and 16% in 2007; and between 15% and 17% in 2008. (WSJ Pub 11/09/05, www.wallstreetjournal.com)
In mid-November 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice announcing that the next meeting of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection and Related Functions (COAC) would be held on December 1, 2005 in Washington, DC. (This committee was previously called the "Treasury Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the U.S. Customs Service.")
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted the following to its Web site: