CBP has posted April 15, 2009 versions of five "pending release" editions of existing Importer Security Filing transaction sets. According to CBP sources, these pending transaction sets will become effective no sooner than May 18, 2009. CBP will notify the trade approximately one to two weeks in advance via a CSMS message when a definitive date is determined. The transaction sets are:
Court of International Trade
The United States Court of International Trade is a federal court which has national jurisdiction over civil actions regarding the customs and international trade laws of the United States. The Court was established under Article III of the Constitution by the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The Court consists of nine judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is located in New York City. The Court has jurisdiction throughout the United States and has exclusive jurisdictional authority to decide civil action pertaining to international trade against the United States or entities representing the United States.
In Archer Daniels Midland Company v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the Court of International Trade regarding the classification of a deodorizer distillate ("DOD"), a residue from the production of edible soybean oil.
In Inn Foods, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of International Trade's ruling that Inn Foods was liable for monetary penalties under 19 USC 1592(a) and unpaid duties under 1592(d) on imports of frozen vegetables that were entered using fraudulent values.
In Esso Standard Oil Co. (PR) v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision by the Court of International Trade not to refund the overpayment of Harbor Maintenance Tax collected on shipments of petroleum products transported from one insular possession to another, which had not been protested in a timely manner under 19 USC 1520(c).
In Peerless Clothing International, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade concluded that Customs did not violate 19 USC 1625(c), despite the lack of a notice and comment period before changing its appraisement of Peerless USA's entries, because the entries claimed by Peerless USA to establish treatment were not substantially identical to those modified by Customs.
On February 25, 2009 the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) sent a letter to President Obama advocating a "stimulus package for trade."
In the February 26, 2009 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 10), CBP provides a table of ten abstracted classification decisions issued by the Court of International Trade (CIT).
In International Custom Products, Inc. ("ICP") v. U.S., the Court of International Trade stated that neither ICP nor the Government had submitted sufficient evidence for the Court to render a decision and stated that a new trial would be necessary to resolve the issue.
CBP has posted a summary of changes to the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) to its Web site, indicating that Version 1.0 was changed on February 24, 2009 as follows:
In Outer Circle Products v. U.S., the Court of International Trade upheld Customs' classification of bottle and jug wraps under HTS 4202.92.20 as "bottle cases""with outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials, other" at a duty rate of 19.3%.