Taiwan continues to be an active participant in World Trade Organization multilateral and plurilateral negotiations, namely on the Trade Facilitation Agreement, said Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Michael Punke at the WTO review of Taiwan on Sept. 16. The country is a staunch supporter of the Environmental Goods Agreement, as well as the Information Technology Agreement and Trade in Services Agreement, Punke added.
The driving of a truck out of the U.S. for export constitutes "use" for drawback claims, said CBP in a June 16 ruling, HQ H240038. The ruling, a further review of protest, involves a truck imported and entered into the U.S. that was eventually driven out of the country after sitting unused at the work site it was imported for. CBP previously denied the drawback claims filed by the importer/exporter because "the exported merchandise did not meet the requirements," said CBP.
CBP posted a notice announcing that the next customs broker license exam will be on Monday, Oct. 6. The notice says test-takers will have 4.5 hours, a half hour longer than the agency previously allowed, to complete the exam. "The time was raised from the former limit of 4 hours to allow sufficient time for completion," said an agency spokeswoman. CBP said last year it would allow for 4.5 hours for the 2013 October exam, but eventually said the notice was incorrect (see 13062019 and 13062803).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
Importers markedly improved the accuracy and timeliness of Importer Security Filing submissions in the past year, according to the “Import Operations and Compliance Benchmark Study” published in July by American Shipper magazine and BPE Global. About 75% of the 250 importers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs) surveyed now say that 95-100% of their ISF declarations are accurate (up from about 65% in 2013), and about the same proportion also say their ISF declarations are timely. CBP began ISF enforcement last year. The survey also says importers are automating more compliance and operations processes, and have increased use of duty avoidance programs by about 5%.
The surety company that posts the required bond for accelerated drawback claims has a right to protest a denial of the claims, said CBP in a April 17 ruling. The surety, Washington International Insurance, protested the denial of accelerated drawback claims filed by SFE Citrus Processors in 1998 and 1999 that were eventually liquidated without drawback in 2004. The claims were for imported "concentrated orange juice for manufacturing" that the importer claimed was exported with added "essential oils and essences," creating a new article for drawback purposes. The further review of protest, ruling HQ W231539, also examined whether the regulations allow for a change in the basis of for the drawback claim.
Correction: The discussion of CBP's drawback program at the American Association of Exporters and Imports conference was on June 18 (see 14062019).
MINNEAPOLIS -- As the customs drawback claims process moves toward incorporation into the Automated Commercial Environment, Congress will need to act on Customs Reauthorization legislation in order to provide CBP the authority to both simplify and automate the program, said industry officials and a CBP customs official on June 18 at the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) annual conference. Both House and Senate Customs Reauthorization bills include provisions that would spur automation and revise drawback to simplify the process. Those bills, however, have not moved on Capitol Hill in months.
It's still unclear exactly when the three Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) chosen for accelerated roll-out will begin to handle import processing for their respective industries, said Elena Ryan, who is in charge of the transition to the CEEs at CBP. Those CEEs -- the Pharmaceutical CEE in New York, the Electronics CEE in Los Angeles and the Petroleum CEE in Houston -- will be the first centers to handle post-release processing for entire industries (see 14030613). Despite rumors otherwise, "we do not have a specific date in mind for all of this to happen," she said. Ryan discussed process on the CEEs during the American Conference Institute's Import Compliance and Enforcement forum on June 13.
CBP will begin accepting applicants to its Trusted Trader program pilot on June 16, it said in a notice announcing the pilot and outlining the benefits and responsibilities associated with participation. The long-awaited pilot combines CBP’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) supply chain security program with its Importer Self Assessment (ISA) import compliance program. Participating importers will have to meet increased recordkeeping and reporting requirements, but will receive benefits like reduced targeting, partial release of held shipments, and the option to be exempt from Non-Intrusive Inspections.