PricewaterhouseCoopers outlined the Trans-Pacific Partnership provisions that apply specifically to the textile and apparel industry in a Dec. 17 report (here) . While the "vast majority of textile and apparel goods covered under the TPP are subject to a 'yarn forward' rule of origin," the trade deal "includes a de minimis exception whereby goods can still qualify for TPP benefits if the total weight of nonoriginating materials is not more than 10 percent of the total weight of the good," said PwC. Also, "some apparel goods, such as [brassieres] and baby garments, are subject to a less restrictive 'cut and sew rule' whereby the yarn or fabric can be sourced from anywhere but must be cut and sewn within a TPP participating country for the final goods to qualify," it said. The agreement also includes a "short supply list of products" that "allows fabrics, yarns and fibers not commercially available in the TPP participating countries to be sourced from non-TPP countries and still qualify for benefits, provided they meet any specified end-use requirements."
The World Customs Organization released an outline of the origin provisions within the Trans-Pacific Partnership (here). The overview is "part of the Comparative study on Preferential Rules of Origin" and the WCO plans to eventually release a more detailed version, it said (here). The main topics covered by the TPP on origin procedures relate to certification of origin, claims for preferential tariff treatment and origin verification, it said. Provisions in the TPP for originating goods include regional value content and de minimis. The agreement includes a wide range of customs provisions, many of which are meant to modernize customs processing among the TPP members (see 1511050020).
The House voted 257-158 on Dec. 11 to adopt the conference version of customs reauthorization legislation that combines the underlying concepts of the Senate-proposed ENFORCE Act and House-introduced PROTECT Act. The vote marks a step forward for the legislation, which will need approval from the Senate before going to President Obama for signature. Lawmakers earlier this week reached a deal on the bill, which includes some new features, such as revised deadlines for CBP reliquidations of entries (see 1512100024).
The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to end a de minimis exemption from marketing order assessments on importers of cotton (here). Under the agency’s proposed rule, importers of cotton would no longer be exempt from paying assessments when the total assessed on any entry line is $2 or less. AMS says the exemption was originally put in place because the cost of collecting assessments was sometimes greater than the amount collected, but automation and other changes have decreased collection costs. Comments are due Jan. 11.
Lawmakers finished up work on a conference version of long-debated customs reauthorization legislation that combines the underlying concepts of the Senate- and House-proposed customs bills, said Conference Committee members on Dec. 9 (here). Notably, the compromise legislation (here) would impose the ENFORCE Act's firm deadlines on CBP to investigate claims of antidumping and countervailing duty evasion, and would require new regulations on customs broker identification of importers, under threat of penalty. A new provision in the legislation -- absent from either chamber's original bill -- would hold CBP to stricter deadlines for reliquidating entries. The bill could go to a vote on the House floor as early as Dec. 11, a congressional staffer said. The lawmakers also released a summary (here) and joint explanatory statement (here) on the bill's provisions.
The Food and Drug Administration’s recently released produce safety regulations (here) that, alongside its preventive controls rules, form the final piece of the food safety system with which importers must verify their suppliers’ equivalence. Foreign and domestic farms will have to begin complying with the produce safety rule over a six-year period beginning on the final rule’s effective date of Jan. 26. FDA’s concurrently-issued regulations establishing Foreign Supplier Verification Program require that importers verify their produce suppliers’ compliance with the produce safety rule beginning six months after their suppliers must comply (see 1511160014). For importers of sprouts, that could come as early as June 2017. The final rules are set to be published in the Nov. 27 Federal Register.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 2-6 in case they were missed.
Trans-Pacific Partnership party New Zealand released the heavily-anticipated full TPP text on Nov. 5. Capitol Hill critics and advocacy groups opposed to the agreement immediately lashed into the terms outlined in the text, while a range of lawmakers, including TPP proponents, urged stakeholders and the American public to scrutinize the text over the coming days. Trade Promotion Authority forces USTR to go public with the text 90 days before the president signs a TPP deal.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are still aiming for a quick compromise on Customs Reauthorization despite months without substantive updates and only vague calls for progress, Senators leading the effort to lock down a bill said in interviews on Oct. 20. A set of trade industry groups, led by the Express Association of America, recently prodded lawmakers to act on a customs bill, arguing de minimis and facilitation provisions in the bill provide a boon to traders (see 1510070016).
Leaders of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees should quickly finalize a customs reauthorization bill to allow the benefits to take effect ahead of the holiday season, said a group of trade associations in a Oct. 1 letter (here). The groups, including the Express Association of America, the Business Alliance for Customs Modernization and the Chamber of Commerce, said without the trade facilitation provisions of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA), there's a greater risk of "of a total breakdown" in shipment processing. Lawmakers should finish the bill and send it to President Barack Obama for signature by the end of October, the groups said.