Parties that wish to add to or remove products from the Generalized System of Preferences, change the GSP status of beneficiary countries, waive competitive need limitations, or oppose de minimis waivers must file their petitions with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by midnight on April 16, the agency said in a notice. If an importer is interested in retaining GSP status for a product on the de minimis list -- a product for which total imports from all countries did not exceed $23.5 million in 2017 -- the importer does not need to make a request for a waiver. However, parties that wish to contest a de minimis waiver should do so at regulations.gov.
The Department of Homeland Security released a set of frequently asked questions about the prohibition of products made by North Koreans under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). That law "reiterates the need for comprehensive due diligence by and on behalf of U.S. companies involved in importing goods," DHS said. Importers "have the responsibility to exercise reasonable care and provide CBP with such information as is necessary to enable CBP to determine if the merchandise may be released from CBP custody," it said.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of March 30 (some may also be given separate headlines):
CBP and other involved agencies should finalize an "interagency approach to managing ACE that includes processes for prioritizing enhancements and sharing system costs," the Government Accountability Office said in a March 14 report. CBP is also considering keeping multiple options for how to move forward with the collections function, which has yet to move from the Automated Commercial System to ACE, GAO said. "CBP officials stated that the agency will continue to link the newly deployed post-release capabilities to collections in ACS while deciding how to proceed."
Courier and delivery services could greatly benefit from a modernized NAFTA, the Coalition of Services Industries said in a report released Feb. 21. The lobbying group said negotiations are in a critical stage, and if the U.S. withdraws from the agreement -- as President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened -- services industries are among the groups that will be hurt most. The services coalition said NAFTA could change rules on cross-border trucking and Mexico's requirements to use Mexican brokers.
CBP plans to issue procedures for ACE outages before the end of the month, the agency said in an Outages Working Group report released ahead of the Feb. 28 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting in Miami. CBP will "publish the public downtime procedures document by the end of February," it said. Following some COAC recommendations in November, "CBP’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT) has assigned a development team to begin working on the recommended enhancements," it said. "Enhancements to the Dashboard will be implemented throughout calendar year 2018."
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 12-16 in case they were missed.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America recently called on CBP to address several holes that still remain in ACE. “While CBP has made great strides over the last few years in development of ACE, we are still in need of additional critical development to make ACE functional,” the trade group said in a white paper. An attached “Priority List” lays out the specific needs of the trade community and where CBP is in addressing them. The group raised similar issues in a Feb. 9 letter to Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner in the CBP Office of Trade, obtained by International Trade Today
CBP continues to "work on the implementation plan for Section 321," an agency spokesman said. "Requirements for Section 321 have not been fully developed. CBP will provide details of the Section 321 plan as soon as it is finalized and approved for communication." Some expect CBP to eventually allow for multiple options for Section 321 filing, including clearance off manifest and through the Automated Broker Interface (see 1802130035).
Clarification: A two-track system opening up both Automated Broker Interface and electronic manifest filing of Section 321 entries to all filers is the likely result of ongoing discussions on the issue, said Michael Mullen of the Express Association of America, clarifying that his remarks on this in a Feb. 13 report in International Trade Today are his opinions and not a statement of CBP’s official position (see 1802130035). The issue is still under discussion by CBP and the trade, he said.