The International Trade Commission is launching an investigation into possible additions and removals of products from the Generalized System of Preferences program, it said in a May 23 press release. Conducted in response to a request from the U.S. trade representative, the investigation will inform USTR’s decisions on product eligibility in the ongoing 2017-18 GSP annual review. ITC and the USTR will also in the review consider whether to grant requests for de minimis and competitive need limitations waivers.
CBP will move forward with its two-track filing system for Section 321 entries in ACE, creating a new option to clear shipments via entry type 86 in the Automated Broker Interface while still allowing clearance off manifest in the Automated Manifest System, it said in a May 22 announcement of priority areas for $30 million in additional ACE development funding it received in appropriations legislation. As expected by some in industry (see 1802130035), the ABI option will be optional for filers but required for entries with partner government agency (PGA) data, CBP said.
CBP will prioritize Section 321 filing via the Automated Broker Interface, an update to CBP Form 5106 importer information, and modernizing foreign-trade zone “e214” admissions, among other new and revised functionalities, with the additional $30 million in ACE funding it received in fiscal year 2018 appropriations legislation, CBP said in an announcement on its website May 22.
CBP provided further details on how importers of goods excluded from Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum can file entries and receive refunds, in a May 21 CSMS message. "Importers and filers importing products granted an exclusion should submit the product exclusion number based on the last six digits of the product exclusion docket number," CBP said. Filers should not "submit the corresponding Chapter 99 HTS number for the Section 232 duties when the product exclusion number is submitted," the agency said.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is beginning a second inquiry into whether Thailand should remain eligible for the Generalized System of Preferences program, USTR said in a May 17 press release. The review was requested by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), which alleges Thailand is not providing fair market access to U.S. pork products. The review comes in addition to a separate eligibility review launched at the request of the AFL-CIO labor union in 2015 (see 1511240017).
CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
Extended exemptions from Section 232 tariffs on aluminum and steel left some countries and importers relieved, but others uncertain as to what is around the corner on June 1. Announced the evening of April 30 just hours before the deadline, the proclamations on steel and aluminum announce full, if undefined, exemptions for Argentina, Brazil and Australia, the final details of a steel exemption for South Korea, and a delay until the beginning of June 1 for Canada, Mexico and the European Union.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which is reviewing whether India, Indonesia and Kazakhstan should continue to be Generalized System of Preferences recipients (see 1804130027), announced the date of a public hearing on the matter. The hearing will be held June 19 at 10 a.m. EDT, and public comments are due by June 5.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1806 on April 25, containing 5,993 Automated Broker Interface records and 1,287 harmonized tariff records, it said in a CSMS message. Modifications include the removal of Ukraine as a beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences (see 1712260010), CBP said.
It’s of the “utmost importance” that importers ensure their mailing addresses in ACE and Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) numbers are up to date as CBP begins processing refunds for entries during the recent lapse in the Generalized System of Preferences program, a CBP official said on CBP’s biweekly ACE call held April 26. CBP prefers that the information be updated electronically, as processing of paper requests may not happen until after refunds checks have been cut and mailed, which should happen for most filers by mid-July, the official said.