Rejected and recalled apparel imported into the U.S. for recycling and fiber reclamation should be valued for customs purposes at the fee paid to the U.S. recycler, CBP said in ruling HQ H262963 (here), issued March 3. With other methods of valuation unavailable, CBP cited previous rulings that found recycled goods should be valued at the fee charged to take possession of the goods. The agency chose the fee paid by the importer to the recycler, rather than the original owner to the importer, to serve as the basis for appraisement.
PHOENIX -- Plans for a rulemaking to eliminate hybrid filing as part of the ACE transition remain unsettled, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade in an interview at the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 25. The agency is being "very careful because that would be a significant change in policy," she said. "Right now we're trying to decide, does it make sense," she said. CBP is "still having that internal discussion," but will "need to communicate" a decision in "the fairly near future," Smith said. CBP previously sought input on prohibiting filings that are a combination of electronic and paper filings (see 1510090017), which drew some concerns within industry (see 1511100030).
Despite a wide range of open questions about new antidumping and countervailing duty evasion enforcement proceedings, CBP fully expects to meet the required deadlines of the customs reauthorization law, said Carrie Owens, chief of CBP’s entry process and duty refund branch. Owens spoke during a panel discussion hosted by the American Bar Association on May 19. The agency is in the process of "furiously drafting" regulations and standard operating procedures related to the implementation of new AD/CVD enforcement measures, required to be implemented by Aug. 23, she said. The agency will also issue an interim final rule that will give some guidance as CBP seeks comments on proposed regulations, Owen said.
On July 23, CBP will begin requiring filing in ACE of entries and entry summaries for most remaining entry types, including entry types with quota merchandise, it said in a notice set for publication in the Federal Register (here). As of that date, ACE cargo release and entry summary will be mandatory for entry types 02, 07, 12, 21, 22, 31, 32, 34, 38, 61, 62, 63, 69 and 70, said CBP. The legacy Automated Commercial System (ACS) will no longer be available. Entry types 01, 03, 06, 11, 23, 51 and 52 are already set to become mandatory (and in some cases, already have) by that date.
CBP released the May 18 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 50, No. 18), which contains the following ruling actions (here):
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 25 - May 1:
Now that all of the industry-focused Centers of Excellence and Expertise are fully operational, members of the Importer Self Assessment and Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs should get a "higher level of service," the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) Trade Modernization Subcommittee said in a list of draft recommendations (here). The recommendation is among a wide range of recommendations planned for discussion at the COAC meeting on April 27 (see 1604250011). CBP's treatment of trusted traders should include "enhanced communication, accessibility and responsiveness (including updates and trends to increase or maintain compliance) with their National Account Manager (NAM) or other Center representative," the subcommittee said.
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Big changes are on the way for protest filing and reconciliation as part of the deployment of ACE post-summary capabilities currently set for October, said Celeste Catano of software developer Kewill during the annual conference of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America on April 19. Alongside new ACE systems for liquidation and drawback, changes to how protests are filed will allow lawyers to submit and keep track of protests, while increased automation of the reconciliation process will make life easier for brokers in several ways, said Catano.
CBP laid out plans for protest filings other post-release processing within ACE as part of a presentation at the Trade Support Network plenary session (here). The electronic mechanism for protest submissions is hoped to allow for broader trade participation and "seamless movement of work that can be equally effective when used at a port or nationwide at a" Center of Excellence and Expertise, said CBP. A deployment date for protests capabilities within ACE isn't yet certain, according to CBP's ACE deployment schedule (here). CBP posted the presentation and additional materials for the TSN session April 5-7 (here).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 29 - March 4 in case they were missed.