The U.S. filed a motion for default judgment on Aug. 7 against importer E-Dong, U.S.A. in pursuit of $234,748.30 in lost revenue due to the importer's negligent failure to pay a federal excise tax on its "Korean distilled beverage soju." The government said E-Dong lied on customs forms by misclassifying the distilled liquor as rice wine, adding that these misstatements "constitute negligent violations for failure to exercise reasonable care and competence" (United States v. E-Dong, U.S.A., CIT # 24-00066).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP is adding Altana Technologies USG as an identity management company that participating importers and licensed customs brokers can use to input company information under what's now called the Global Business Identifier (GBI) Test program, according to a Federal Register notice.
As importers seek to comply with the many tariffs that have been introduced or modified in recent months, they will need to be mindful of entry construction if their goods are eligible for duty drawback, according to Tim Vorderstrasse, a licensed customs broker with Flexport, speaking during his company's Aug. 6 webinar on tariffs.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP created Harmonized System Updates 2530 and 2531 on Aug. 5. HSU 2530 contains 404 Automated Broker Interface records and 135 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2531 contains four ABI records and two HTS records. HSU 2530 includes the additional duties on imports from Brazil effective Aug. 6, the reciprocal tariff updates effective Aug. 7, and miscellaneous tariff adjustments required by verification of the 2025 HTS. HSU 2531 includes an update to the countries of origin for the EU reciprocal tariffs.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2529 on Aug. 1, containing 59 Automated Broker Interface records and 16 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2529 includes the adjustments to Section 232 Import duties on copper, the additional duties on imports from Canada and miscellaneous tariff adjustments required by verification of the 2025 Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
CBP recently offered guidance on how customs brokers and importers should apply 40% duties on goods imported from Brazil, following the White House's implementation of stiffer tariffs on the country (see 2507300066).
San Francisco-based Caspian, an ABI software vendor and licensed customs broker, is officially launching its AI-informed advisory services for duty drawback and tariff refund processing, according to a recent announcement. The company, which bills itself as "an AI-driven customs compliance startup," says its tools are able to analyze companies' international shipping records and inventory data to find eligible duty refunds that can be submitted as claims within days. Because Caspian is approved by CBP as a tech provider and customs broker, it says it can file claims with CBP on behalf of clients or in support of others' existing trade advisory work.