International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
FORT LAUDERDALE -- While CBP's Entry Type 86 pilot has allowed customs brokers to handle low value shipments, the agency also is seeing filers "abusing" the test by filing unverified data and pricing out other brokers who can't compete with the low fees the bad actors are charging, said CBP acting Commissioner Troy Miller in remarks at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference April 17.
Although all members of the House Ways and Means Committee supported a bill renewing the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, the bill proceeded to the House floor on a split bipartisan vote of 17-24 as Democrats unsuccessfully called to include an extension of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers program, which lapsed in 2022.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wants CBP to investigate the role of slave labor in goods being sold over retail apps Temu and Shein, he said in an April 16 letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Rubio asked that CBP investigate the exporters and, if necessary, add them to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’s Entity List, which keeps track of companies that sell merchandise produced with slave labor. Both companies have abused the de minimis provision to get goods tainted by forced labor into the U.S., the senator said.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testified April 16 before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding the Biden administration’s trade policy agenda for 2024. She expressed support for upcoming legislation to renew the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and to close the de minimis imports loophole (see 2404160029), and she detailed some of the administration’s values and aims for the upcoming year. “Our approach is one that addresses and advances the interests of all parts of our economy and does not pit Americans against Americans,” she said.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to President Joe Biden April 15 regarding the “urgent threat” posed by the Chinese retail application Temu, an app that has been seeking to nudge its way into a market still dominated by Amazon.
Congress should approve tougher sanctions and import restrictions to stem the deadly and illegal flow of fentanyl into the U.S., the House Select Committee on China said in a new report April 16.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The House Ways and Means Committee is set on April 17 to consider several just-introduced trade bills, including a retroactive extension of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, new restrictions on de minimis and restrictions on electric vehicle tax credits.
A change in ACE that will restrict the filing of Type 86 entries to upon or prior to arrival of the goods has been “delayed until further notice,” CBP said in a CSMS message. Previously scheduled for April 13, the now-postponed deployment would shorten the time frame for Type 86 entries (see 2401120070), which is currently the same for formal entries at a maximum 15 days after arrival. “Once a new deployment date is determined, a subsequent CSMS will be issued advising of the new deployment date,” CBP said. “As a reminder, this update will prevent Entry Type 86 transactions from being filed after the arrival of a conveyance.”