The Court of International Trade's Rules Advisory Committee is considering a "format" for transmitting business proprietary information from CBP to CIT related to Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) investigations, said Justin Miller, Justice Department senior trial counsel, during a panel discussion at an Oct. 27 Case Western Reserve University Law School event on enforcement of customs laws. "Some of the items they've discussed is something similar to what we would see in an AD/CV proceeding," Miller said. There's been some concern about the treatment of confidential information within an EAPA proceeding (see 1703100012).
CBP posted a trade enforcement bulletin for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017, which mentions a new training pilot program on trade fraud. The Office of Trade’s Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate Civil Enforcement Division developed the course and offered it to the Agriculture and Prepared Products Center of Excellence and Expertise in Miami, CBP said. "The three-day course included: roundtable discussions with Associate Chief Counsel, the Department of Justice, and [ICE Homeland Security Investigations]; overviews of the various enforcement tools with the National Targeting and Analysis Group; and team collaboration on current enforcement actions," the agency said. The course is part of CBP's response to a March executive order on antidumping and countervailing duty collections (see 1704030033).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 16-20 in case they were missed.
SAN DIEGO -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission in July began a yearlong internal study of the usefulness of obtaining certain compliance data prior to import, CPSC Office of Import Surveillance Deputy Director Jim Joholske said Oct. 23 during the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ) conference. The follow-up study, which began following completion of the six-month e-filing alpha pilot in December 2016 (see 1701270043), involves collecting existing product safety certificates of compliance each time a regular import exam is conducted, as part of an effort to determine the potential benefits of having the certificates’ data elements, pre-arrival, Joholske said.
The following customs broker licenses and all associated permits are revoked for failure to "employ at least one qualifying individual," CBP said in a notice.
A recent change to CBP policy on the timing of dunning letters does not create a new requirement to pay duties before filing a protest, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an emailed update. “CBP has clarified that its policy regarding protests has not changed; it is not a requirement that importers pay duties to lodge a protest,” the trade group said. The agency sent a CSMS message in August that said the agency is shortening the time for sending dunning letters in connection with outstanding bills, from 181 days to 61 days, “well within the 180 day protest period,” the NCBFAA said.
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 1707 on Oct. 19, containing 27,291 Automated Broker Interface records and 5,164 harmonized tariff records, it said in a CSMS message. Modifications include those mandated by the Agricultural Marketing Service, adjusting the assessment on imported cotton and cotton products, effective Nov. 6 (see 1709010014), CBP said. The modified records can be retrieved electronically via the procedures indicated in the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR). Further information: Jennifer Keeling, Jennifer.L.Keeling@cbp.dhs.gov
It’s unclear whether U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) provisions related to drawback, certificates of origin and import relief measures would spring back into force if the U.S. withdraws from NAFTA, according to a recent Q&A posted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. NAFTA Implementation Act Section 107 states that some CFTA provisions will remain suspended until the suspension itself is terminated. This could mean that those suspensions would, by default, remain active in any post-NAFTA world, even though Canada and the U.S. formally agreed through a January 1993 exchange of letters to broadly suspend the operation of CFTA when NAFTA took effect, with the suspension “to remain in effect for such time as the two governments are Parties to NAFTA,” the NCBFAA said.
Freight forwarders that transfer funds to customs brokers from importers for payment to CBP are not performing "customs business," CBP said in a Sept. 6 ruling. CBP issued ruling HQ H258556 in response to a ruling request from Terra Nova Trade Services, a licensed customs broker. As long as the freight forwarder isn't involved in the actual calculation of the customs duties, CBP said, the freight forwarder is allowed to play an intermediary role. Terra Nova, through its lawyer George Tuttle, also sought CBP's input on the required power of attorney (POA) for such transactions.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 18 (some may also be given separate headlines):