CBP mistakenly issued billings for additional merchandise processing fees (MPF) for some entry summaries with entry dates prior to Oct. 1, CBP said in a CSMS message July 17. Entry summaries with an entry date on or after Oct. 1, 2011, are subject to the MPF rate of 0.3464 percent.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 9-13 in case they were missed last week.
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative announced the results of the 2011 Annual Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) Review, in a Federal Register notice scheduled for publication July 12. It also scheduled public comments and a public hearing for new country practice petitions for Fiji, Indonesia, Iraq, and Ukraine, and announced the closure of the country practices review of Sri Lanka's worker rights practices, and the designation of Afghanistan as a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for purposes of the GSP. Some specific results of the review:
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 2-6 in case they were missed last week.
CBP posted a document to its website that provides side-by-side comparisons of the following 18 U.S. free trade agreements and preferential trade programs: NAFTA; Chile (CFTA); Singapore (SFTA); Australia (AFTA); Israel (ILFTA); Jordan (JFTA); Bahrain (BFTA); Morocco (MFTA); Oman (OFTA); Central America-Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR); Peru (PTPA); Korea (UKFTA); Colombia (CTPA); Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA); Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA); Generalized System of Preferences (GSP); African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA); Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA); and Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA).
CBP issued a CSMS message announcing the issuance of Harmonized System Update 1207 on changes to the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). This update contains 1,432 ABI records and 302 harmonized tariff records. Changes required by Presidential Proclamation 8840, To Modify Duty Free Treatment Under the Generalized System of Preferences, and for Other Purposes, effective July 1, are included as well. This proclamation is (here).
President Obama issued Proclamation 8840 which, among other things, implements changes to the Generalized System of Preferences and the World Trade Organization Information Technology Agreement. Details of changes follow:
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative closed the Generalized System of Preferences country practice review on worker rights in Sri Lanka without any change to Sri Lanka’s GSP trade benefits, said USTR Ron Kirk. The AFL-CIO had filed a petition in 2008 alleging shortcomings in Sri Lanka’s recognition of worker rights. Kirk noted “the Sri Lankan government’s noteworthy efforts over the past few years to address the worker rights issues outlined in the GSP petition.” Among the steps, USTR said, are making progress in initiating, investigating and resolving unfair labor practices cases; establishing trade union facilitation centers in each of the three largest Economic Processing Zones; improving procedures for conducting union certifications; and enacting legislation to increase the fines for labor practices violations.
U.S. trade with the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) was virtually unchanged in 2011, falling less than 0.1 percent following rapid growth of 34 percent in 2010, despite the exit of Peru from the program at the beginning of the year, and the lapse in the program from February 12, 2011, through October 21, 2011, according to the report on ATPA released June 30 by the U.S. Trade Representative.
President Barack Obama said seven cotton fiber products should be added to the list of those eligible for duty-free treatment under the program when imported from least developed country beneficiaries, in the Administration’s 2011 Annual Review under the Generalized System of Preferences program. Adding the products implements one element of the LDC trade initiatives that the Office of U.S. Trade Representative announced at the December 2011 World Trade Organization Ministerial, said USTR Ron Kirk.