International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Dec. 24-28 in case they were missed.
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
Customs brokers may still be sued under state laws despite a 1995 law that barred state claims against companies engaged in ground transportation, the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts said in a Dec. 20 decision. The federal law only pre-empts claims against motor carriers, freight brokers and forwarders engaged in ground transportation, and customs brokers don’t fall under any of those categories, the court said, allowing portions of an importer’s case against C.H. Robinson to go forward.
Lawmakers were unable to reach a federal government funding deal on Dec. 21, resulting in a shutdown that began at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 22 and has no clear end in sight. CBP held a conference call on Dec. 21 with members of the trade to discuss the agency's operations during a shutdown, according to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. CBP will have conference calls during the shutdown and is preparing a CSMS message to detail its plans, the NCBFAA said.
Customs and Border Protection at our Monday deadline was awaiting Federal Register publication of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice officially delaying the increase in Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods for 90 days to March 2. Though the USTR posted the prepublication notice Friday (see 1812140045), CBP confirmed it would wait to make changes in its Automated Commercial Environment portal until the notice is formally published. ACE is CBP's central system through which importers and exporters file shipment reports. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America noted in an email to members some confusion "when customs brokers who transmit entries early for shipments arriving after January 1 notice that CBP's system applies a 25% tariff rate for these products." Brokers should be aware that "10% will be the correct duty rate on January 1, but CBP's system will nevertheless show a duty rate of 25% until official notification is published," said the association.
CBP is awaiting Federal Register publication of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative notice delaying increased Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods (see 1809180016). While the USTR posted the coming notice (see 1812140034), CBP confirmed it would wait to make changes in ACE until the notice is formally published in the Federal Register. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America noted in an email to members that there's been some confusion "when customs brokers who transmit entries early for shipments arriving after January 1 notice that CBP's system applies a 25% tariff rate for these products." Brokers should be aware that "10% will be the correct duty rate on January 1, but CBP's system will nevertheless show a duty rate of 25% until official notification is published," NCBFAA said.
The two excluded sectors from planned Europe trade talks -- agriculture and autos -- both want to be included, according to comments filed with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative ahead of the Dec. 14 public hearing on negotiation priorities. More than 150 organizations and individuals shared their views in the USTR docket ahead of the Dec. 10 deadline for comments.
CBP paused its efforts to cull inactive importer numbers, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said on Dec. 10. CBP apparently acknowledged its scope was too broad, and plans to make some changes and start again sometime in 2019, the NCBFAA said. CBP also told the NCBFAA that "the Office of Finance is handling a considerable amount of reinstatement requests and is currently backlogged," the NCBFAA said. CBP didn't comment.
The Food and Drug Administration has seen a recent increase in trucks carrying FDA-regulated cargo entering the U.S. from Canada without stopping for FDA examination, the agency’s Division of Northern Border Imports said in a Nov. 27 memorandum to customs brokers. “While we understand communication errors may occasionally occur, it is the collective responsibility of each of the importing parties associated with the entry (customhouse broker and carrier) to become familiar with and follow established procedures for importing FDA regulated entries,” the memo said. “For entries crossing during FDA hours of operation … we strongly encourage carriers to report to FDA for exam and clearance,” it said. Doing so will prevent costly delays, including needing to return the entry for physical examination, FDA said.
CBP plans to make use of the new entry type meant for low-value shipments as part of the next blockchain "use case" involving intellectual property rights licensing, said Vincent Annunziato, director of CBP’s Business Transformation and Innovation Division. "We figured out a way to make it so we're tying in the data that we're getting off the licensing to the entry," he said of the test while speaking on a panel during the stakeholder's forum of the U.S.-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council on Dec. 5. "And we're using that new type 86 that hasn't come out yet so a lot of the companies will get a chance to experiment." The new type 86 entry is planned as a way to handle de minimis shipments in the Automated Broker Interface, with a pilot program expected during calendar year 2019 (see 1810200002).