International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 11-15 in case they were missed.
CBP’s adoption of new questions in its informed compliance publication on reasonable care sets the stage for increased enforcement on importers of recently amended provisions banning imports of goods produced with forced labor, customs lawyer Ted Murphy of Baker McKenzie said in a blog post. Importers that cannot answer the questions, which address an importer’s knowledge of its supply chain and procedures to check for forced labor (see 1711070046), “run the risk of having their goods detained or seized,” Murphy said.
ATLANTA -- On her last day working as acting Homeland Security secretary, Elaine Duke on Dec. 5 said her department is still looking for additional ACE funds, even as ACE modernization “is in the budget,” and emphasized the importance of advance data and closer monitoring of postal supply chains as opioid shipments to the U.S. have increased in recent years. During a keynote speech at the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium, Duke acknowledged that ACE needs upgrading, adding that the Department of Homeland Security’s Joint Requirements Council is looking for ways to free up more money for ACE. That council is a “component-led body” designed to “identify, prioritize and recommend investments to address cross-department capability,” according to DHS.gov. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal year 2018 Homeland Security spending bill directs $38 million to support ACE core functionality and $5 million for ACE enhancements (see 1711240027).
CBP should require live entry for imports requiring antidumping and countervailing duty payments for importers that have unresolved non-payments of duties at the time of entry summary, or that haven’t paid an increased duty bill within 60 days of issuance, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee said in a recommendation approved at its Nov. 14 meeting in Washington. But the live entry for non-payment of duty increases should exempt importers with protest issues that can be filed within 180 days of duty of the rate advance, the COAC said. CBP should also establish and publish its policy for removing an importer from live entries after they rectify any payment problems, or demonstrate the importer wasn’t at fault for any late filing or payment in instances like technical or processing errors, it said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 6-9 in case they were missed.
CBP plans to launch a “proof of concept and/or pilot” in fiscal year 2018 on the potential applications of blockchain technology for trade, according to a document from the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee’s Emerging Technologies Working Group. The agency is currently working with the trade community to develop “use cases” wherein blockchain could improve trade processes, and held an invitation-only blockchain workshop in October to discuss ideas. “There appears to be opportunity among the trade community to either track/validate goods in their supply chain to support due diligence or potentially to support verifiable claims to CBP for audit/compliance purposes,” the paper says.
CBP has begun a “significant communications outreach” to the trade community on forced labor in the wake of the recent passage of a law that set restrictions on entry of merchandise tied to North Korean nationals, it said in a press release. The agency updated its informed compliance publication on reasonable care to include new information on forced labor, and “has engaged with the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) Forced Labor Work Group and has acted on many of its recommendations,” it said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 23-27 in case they were missed.
The Labor Department is requesting comments to inform development of the government’s 2018 edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor and possible updates to the List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor, as needed, Labor said. Labor is requesting that commenters provide information to Labor’s Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking by 5 p.m. Jan. 12, 2018. Further, DOL seeks comments to inform the 2018 edition of the Worst Forms of Child Labor report, an annual review that fulfills a statutory mandate tasking the labor secretary with reporting findings with regard to Generalized System of Preferences countries’ implementation of international commitments to eliminate the “worst forms of child labor,” DOL said.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Nov. 14 in Washington, CBP said in a notice.