Representatives of the international and domestic textile and apparel industry concurred that a renegotiated NAFTA should preserve application of the Berry Amendment, in testimony on June 27, but differed on whether tariff preference levels (TPLs) should stay in place. Speaking during a hearing convened by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative featuring interagency partners, American Apparel and Footwear Association Executive Vice President Stephen Lamar and Rubber and Plastics Footwear Manufacturers Association trade counsel Marc Fleischaker said NAFTA should maintain the general statutory requirement for the Defense Department to give procurement preferences to domestically produced products. “The NAFTA government procurement chapter should carefully and specifically preserve the applicability of the Berry Amendment in the United States,” Fleischaker said during the hearing at the International Trade Commission.
Drawback
A duty drawback is a refund by CBP of the duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods, which were imposed upon importation. More broadly, a drawback also includes the refund or remission of other excise taxes pursuant to other provisions of law. CBP's duty drawback scheme under the Customs Act of 1962 allows exporters to receive a refund on customs duties they paid on imported products that are then used or incorporated into other products for export or remain unused until importation.
CBP again postponed its last major ACE deployment for post-release capabilities that was scheduled for July 8, it said in a June 27 CSMS message (here). "We have been conducting ongoing, rigorous testing to ensure these capabilities will operate successfully," said CBP. "Our latest efforts have revealed areas specific to collections that are in need of further testing before these capabilities can be deployed. Consequently, we are postponing the July 8, 2017 deployment, and are in the process of replanning. We will communicate further information as soon as possible."
AUSTIN, Texas -- CBP remains committed to implementing drawback changes in ACE by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act’s February 2018 deadline, but contentious issues remain as the agency considers concurrent regulatory changes to its drawback program that are required by the same date, government officials and industry representatives said at the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) annual conference on June 21.
All the attorneys from Cerny Associates will be moving to Sandler Travis, Michael Cerny said by email. Michael Cerny will be vice president with the Sandler Travis Trade Advisory Services drawback group, the firm said in an emailed news release. The titles for the other lawyers weren't specified in the release.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 12-16 in case they were missed.
More commenters on NAFTA renegotiations pushed for the U.S. to protect development of ACE and a North American single-window system in any updated agreement. The American Association of Exporters and Importers said in comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (here) that NAFTA should allow electronic signatures for the certification process in all three parties. The signature should be generated by software identifying and authenticating the signer and confirming the signer’s approval, AAEI said. “Acceptance of this type of electronic signature is distinct from NAFTA’s current and outdated practice of requiring certificates that are either hand-signed or that include an electronically reproduced image of an original handwritten signature.”
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 5-9 in case they were missed.
CBP can’t assess the effectiveness of enforcement activities largely because its plans generally lack targets to evaluate performance, and the agency continues to fall short of congressionally directed staffing levels in some job categories, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released June 12 (here). CBP hasn’t met minimum staffing levels set by Congress for four of nine positions that perform customs revenue functions over the past five years, said the report, which was mandated by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA)
NAFTA negotiators should embrace trade facilitation and “do no harm” to existing cross-border relationships as they rework the agreement, trade associations said in comments to the U.S. Trade Representative (here). USTR on June 13 extended the deadline for comment submission on the expected NAFTA renegotiation from June 12 until 11:59 p.m. on June 14, citing "high interest" and a need to ensure all interested participants have an opportunity to comment. USTR requested input on potential modifications to the agreement following the administration’s formal notification to Congress that it intends to start renegotiating the agreement as early as mid-August (see 1705220007 and 1705180043).
CBP updated its information pages on ACE (here) following the agency's announcement that it will require the use of ACE beginning July 8 for drawback and duty deferral entries and entry summaries (see 1706070042). The agency updated its specific pages for drawback (here), duty deferral (here), reconciliation (here), statements (here) and liquidation (here).