The Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations issued a circular April 22 to clarify value-added tax treatment in Mexico for patent medicines. Based on a review of the applicable laws and regulations prompted by confusion among some CAAAREM members, the association said that imports of merchandise considered by tax and health legislation to be patent medicines are eligible for a zero percent VAT rate. Merchandise classifiable in Chapter 30 of the Mexican tariff schedule, that are covered by Article 7 of the Mexican VAT regulations, have a VAT rate of zero percent at the time they are imported into Mexican territory, said the circular, which was posted by the trade consultancy AJR Comercio Exterior.
Mexico recently amended its foreign trade regulations to add new tariff subheadings to its lists of products subject to import and export permitting and compliance with product standards, in a notice published in the April 18 Diario Oficial. The new subheadings, which mostly cover fibers, textiles, apparel and footwear of tariff schedule chapters 53-64, include those added in a notice amending the Mexican tariff schedule issued April 10, according to a circular issued by the Mexican Confederation of Customs Broker Associations April 23 that was posted by the trade consultancy AJR Comercio Exterior. The new notice takes effect May 6, though import automatic permits for products of any subheadings that were eliminated in the notice will remain in effect for the duration of the permit's original validity, and any import declarations related to such permits should include the original subheading listed on the permit, CAAAREM said.
The World Customs Organization Permanent Technical Committee approved a draft of e-commerce technical specifications to be reviewed with the Policy Commission in June and the WCO Council soon after, said Ana Hinojosa, WCO director-compliance and facilitation. Hinojosa spoke via video at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference last week. Discussions on e-commerce also are planned with the World Trade Organization, she said. "They have invited us to participate in some of their workshops and we're very interested in us to engage in their process as well," she said. "We're hopeful that those conversations will be fruitful and something will come out of that." Customs and Border Protection believes "work needs to continue" on the e-commerce standards, said Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner-trade. "We believe that a lot of the work by countries that rely on collection of a value added tax has driven a lot of the requirements in the WCO's technical appendices and documents," said Smith. “We think that we ought to take a little bit more time" to ensure the implementation documents "allow for and support safety and security in the e-commerce environment." A May 2-3 WCO conference on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System will look at “how complicated it is, whether there's a way to update and revise it in a way that makes it more user-friendly and actually drives more uniform implementation of it," Hinojosa said. CBP will also be at the meeting, said Smith.
The World Customs Organization Permanent Technical Committee approved a draft of e-commerce technical specifications to be reviewed with the Policy Commission in June and the WCO Council soon after, said Ana Hinojosa, WCO director-compliance and facilitation. Hinojosa spoke via video at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference last week. Discussions on e-commerce also are planned with the World Trade Organization, she said. "They have invited us to participate in some of their workshops and we're very interested in us to engage in their process as well," she said. "We're hopeful that those conversations will be fruitful and something will come out of that." Customs and Border Protection believes "work needs to continue" on the e-commerce standards, said Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner-trade. "We believe that a lot of the work by countries that rely on collection of a value added tax has driven a lot of the requirements in the WCO's technical appendices and documents," said Smith. “We think that we ought to take a little bit more time" to ensure the implementation documents "allow for and support safety and security in the e-commerce environment." A May 2-3 WCO conference on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System will look at “how complicated it is, whether there's a way to update and revise it in a way that makes it more user-friendly and actually drives more uniform implementation of it," Hinojosa said. CBP will also be at the meeting, said Smith.
Americans for Free Trade -- along with 150 national and regional trade groups -- sent a letter to the White House April 22 saying that all tariffs should end with a China trade deal, and that the enforcement of that deal should "avoid any enforcement mechanism that would trigger future tariffs and result in long-term economic uncertainty." The letter also said that the exclusion process for Section 301 imports should continue, even if those tariffs end at the signing of the agreement. The groups, which include the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said, "American businesses and farmers bearing the burden of the trade war have been told repeatedly by your Administration that they must endure 'short-term pain for long-term gain.' They were promised that tariffs were merely a means to an end, and that all this damage would be worth it. A deal that fails to lift tariffs would represent a broken promise to these hardworking Americans. "
The World Customs Organization Permanent Technical Committee has approved a draft of e-commerce technical specifications, and the package will next face review with the Policy Commission in June and the WCO Council soon after, said Ana Hinojosa, WCO director-Compliance and Facilitation. Hinojosa spoke via video at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference on April 17. There are also some discussions on e-commerce planned with the World Trade Organization, she said. "They have invited us to participate in some of their workshops and we're very interested in us to engage in their process as well," she said. "We're hopeful that those conversations will be fruitful and something will come out of that."
Recent Court of International Trade decisions leave the door open for confusion among importers and customs brokers on tariff classification, customs lawyer Larry Friedman said in an April 17 blog post. Though CIT found in an April 8 decision that use is not a consideration when classifying locking pliers imported by Irwin Industrial Tool Company(see 1904100037), it’s still unclear when use should or should not be considered in light of a 2014 Federal Circuit decision that use should be considered when classifying GRK wood screws (see 14080420). Neither tariff provision includes the terms “for use as” or “for use with,” both of which clearly signal a use provision. “Classification is a legal analysis. It is, at the same time, also performed every day by thousands of non-lawyers who are engaged in making compliance decisions for importers large and small,” Friedman said. “Even licensed brokers are not always fully aware of the details of the legal analysis of tariff language. Bright line tests are necessary to facilitate trade and to avoid creating traps for the average importer, for whom the statute is allegedly written in the language or ordinary commerce.”
The World Customs Organization Permanent Technical Committee has approved a draft of e-commerce technical specifications, and the package will next face review with the Policy Commission in June and the WCO Council soon after, said Ana Hinojosa, WCO director-Compliance and Facilitation. Hinojosa spoke via video at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference on April 17. There are also some discussions on e-commerce planned with the World Trade Organization, she said. "They have invited us to participate in some of their workshops and we're very interested in us to engage in their process as well," she said. "We're hopeful that those conversations will be fruitful and something will come out of that."
Companies and individuals who violate New Zealand customs requirements can now be issued a range of instant fines, according to a list of infringement offenses from New Zealand Customs. The list was mentioned in an April 17 notice from Baker McKenzie. The changes were introduced in October as part of the country’s Customs and Excise Act of 2018 but were not implemented until after a six-month “education phase,” according to the notice. They became effective April 1, 2019.
Industry groups and unions continued to react to the International Trade Commission's analysis of the new NAFTA the day after the report was released, with most saying the report confirmed what they already knew.