U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site its January 2004 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Modernization newsletter which discusses, among other things, CBP's plans for expansion of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) in 2004. The following are "highlights" of CBP's January 2004 newsletter:
The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has issued a Federal Register notice stating that pursuant to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the existing export visa and folklore certification requirements are being canceled for textile and apparel products in Categories 410, 433, 443, and 611 as such products are no longer subject to 'regular' quotas for exports from Mexico on and after January 1, 2004. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/14/04 news, 04011415, for earlier BP summary.) (FR Pub 01/23/04, available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-1560.pdf)
The International Trade Administration (ITA) frequently issues notices on antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty orders which Broker Power considers to be "minor" in importance as they concern actions that occur after an order is issued and neither announce nor cause any changes to an order's duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective period.
At its January 21, 2004 meeting, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) considered a petition from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA) requesting that the FMC amend its non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) bonding provisions to reflect a recent U.S.-China maritime agreement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a notice on its Web site announcing that the next Customs Broker Licensure Examination will be held on Monday, April 5, 2004.
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA), the National Industrial Transportation (NIT) League, and the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) have submitted to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) joint additional comments in response to the FMC's reopening of the comment period on five petitions requesting that some or all non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) be granted, variously, the ability to enter into confidentially negotiated service contracts with their customers, an exemption from establishing and publishing rate tariffs for ocean transportation, etc.
Broker Power has listed the 2004 general (column 1) duty rates for certain knit and crocheted apparel that is 70% or more by weight silk or silk waste and is subject to a silk category number (7XX).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice regarding the appeals period for questions on the October 2003 Customs broker exam.
The Winter 2003 issue of the NCBFAA Quarterly Bulletin contains an article that states that miscellaneous tariff and trade bills are no longer routine, are not predictable, and may not even be possible. The article notes that such bills have increasingly become the vehicle for solving larger, tougher trade and economic issues that have nothing to do with the tedious technical language of miscellaneous tariff and trade bills. (NBFAA Quarterly Bulletin, No. 103-4, Winter 2003, www.ncbfaa.org.)