Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said, “generally technical fixes are easy to do,” and told International Trade Today that such a bill to make fixes to USMCA's implementation bill could hitch a ride on a Continuing Resolution to fund the government, if the bill were completed in time. Grassley said a week ago that he hasn't had any discussions on the technical fixes needed, including allowing post-importation refunds of merchandise processing fees.
The International Trade Commission recently released a list of some of the upcoming changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule that will take effect on July 1. The list, provided by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, details changes to 10-digit statistical suffixes agreed to by the interagency 484(f) Committee. Affected tariff provisions cover dried tart cherries, rice, wines, propane, diagnostic reagents, disinfectant wipes, viral transport media, face masks and other personal protective equipment, crystalline glassware, stainless steel kegs, mobile clinic vehicles, infrared thermometers, foldable mattress foundations and ancient coins, among other things. The list is not a complete record of all changes that will take effect July 1, and does not include any tariff schedule changes necessary to implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Keeping customs brokers updated with the details of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement compliance is critical to helping smaller importers transition away from NAFTA, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade. Smith was interviewed on a June 25 podcast hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies about the USMCA, which enters into force July 1.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is on track to open up its ACE filing pilot to all filers on July 6, with an eye to issuing a final rule making use of the FWS partner government agency (PGA) message set mandatory at the end of the year, FWS senior wildlife inspector Rhyan Tompkins said on a June 22 webinar hosted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet July 15, remotely, beginning at 1 p.m., CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by July 14.
Generally, an entry is liquidated after 314 days, but Geodis customs brokers told an audience of fashion industry professionals that there have been cases in which liquidation came early, and there was not enough time left to do a protest in order to get a refund after an exclusion was granted. The brokers spoke during a webinar hosted by the U.S. Fashion Industry Association.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America will use Sandler Travis as its new customs counsel, the NCBFAA said in a June 16 news release by email. Lenny Feldman will serve as lead counsel within the firm, it said. Sandler Travis and Feldman replace Grunfeld Desiderio and Alan Klestadt, who were the NCBFAA's customs counsel for more than a dozen years, the association said.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America will use Sandler Travis as its new customs counsel, the NCBFAA said in a June 16 news release by email. Lenny Feldman will serve as lead counsel within the firm, it said. Sandler Travis and Feldman replace Grunfeld Desiderio and Alan Klestadt, who were the NCBFAA's customs counsel for more than a dozen years, the association said.
The Commerce Department’s increased restrictions on shipments to military end-users is causing widespread confusion and could cripple exporters struggling to survive during the global COVID-19 pandemic (see 2005010037), industry groups said. The Bureau of Industry and Security's April 28 final rule (see 2004270027), set to take effect June 29, is too complex and was released with “poor” timing and without industry input, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said.
The United Kingdom on June 12 announced new plans to phase in import entry requirements for goods from the European Union over a six-month period following the end of the Brexit transition period on Dec. 31, 2020. The U.K. government will also provide £50 million in additional funding for customs brokers, forwarders and express couriers for recruitment, training and information technology (IT) expenses.