International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 7-11 in case they were missed.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America announced several new officers and board members at its recent annual conference in Rancho Mirage, California, it said in an emailed update. Joining Amy Magnus as new NCBFAA president (see 1805020067) are new Vice President Janet Fields of John S. James; new Treasurer Scott Larson of MOL Logistics; and new Secretary Gerald Becnel of J.W. Allen. Former NCBFAA President Geoffrey Powell will assume the role of NCBFAA chairman, the trade group said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its spring 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes a first mention of a final rule involving vessel repair unit locations. CBP regulations require "that when a vessel subject to the vessel repair statute first arrives into the United States or Puerto Rico following a foreign voyage, the owner, master, or authorized agent must submit a vessel repair declaration to CBP." Currently, the vessel repair entry is filed at the Vessel Repair Unit in New Orleans, but the regulations confusingly list two other VRUs, CBP said. The final rule removes the mentions of other VRUs.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its spring 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes a first mention of a final rule involving vessel repair unit locations. CBP regulations require "that when a vessel subject to the vessel repair statute first arrives into the United States or Puerto Rico following a foreign voyage, the owner, master, or authorized agent must submit a vessel repair declaration to CBP." Currently, the vessel repair entry is filed at the Vessel Repair Unit in New Orleans, but the regulations confusingly list two other VRUs, CBP said. The final rule removes the mentions of other VRUs.
U.S. companies are “market leaders” in development and sale of smart thermostats, and would be the hardest hit if the Trump administration imposes 25 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, the Advanced Energy Management Alliance said in comments posted May 10. The alliance, whose members include green energy services providers, but also Nest, Tesla and Walmart, wants the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to remove automatic thermostats in HTS subheading 9032.10.00 from its list of products targeted for the tariffs, it said. Chinese companies “do not have a meaningful presence in the U.S. market” for smart thermostats, it said. “Therefore, if USTR were to impose duties on smart thermostats, the impact of the duties would fall primarily on U.S. companies. In addition to the harm this would cause to the U.S. companies and their American workers, the additional duties would increase prices for the millions of U.S. families who rely on smart thermostats to control their energy costs and [would] discourage their use.”
The Treasury Department published its spring 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes two new rulemakings, one involving the prohibition on imports made through forced labor and another on intellectual property rights. The forced labor proposal, expected by August, "would generally bring the forced labor regulations and detention procedures into alignment with other statutes, regulations and procedures that apply to the enforcement of restrictions against other types of prohibited merchandise," it said. The IPR rulemaking, expected by August, would "create a procedure for the disclosure of information otherwise protected by the Trade Secrets Act to a trademark owner when merchandise bearing suspected counterfeit trademarks has been voluntarily abandoned."
The Treasury Department published its spring 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes two new rulemakings, one involving the prohibition on imports made through forced labor and another on intellectual property rights. The forced labor proposal, expected by August, would "would generally bring the forced labor regulations and detention procedures into alignment with other statutes, regulations and procedures that apply to the enforcement of restrictions against other types of prohibited merchandise," it said. The IPR rulemaking, expected by August, would "create a procedure for the disclosure of information otherwise protected by the Trade Secrets Act to a trademark owner when merchandise bearing suspected counterfeit trademarks has been voluntarily abandoned."
Customs and Border Protection is considering offering trusted trader benefits to those in the e-commerce world, to improve compliance, said John Leonard, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, on a panel last week at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference. The hope is to "incentivize all these new actors in this space to improve the platforms and marketplaces, etc., to be more compliant," he said in Rancho Mirage, California. The agency will need to act quickly on an e-commerce policy "because it's already overtaking us," said Jim Swanson, association director-cargo and conveyance security and controls.
Customs and Border Protection is considering offering trusted trader benefits to those in the e-commerce world, to improve compliance, said John Leonard, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, on a panel last week at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference. The hope is to "incentivize all these new actors in this space to improve the platforms and marketplaces, etc., to be more compliant," he said in Rancho Mirage, California. The agency will need to act quickly on an e-commerce policy "because it's already overtaking us," said Jim Swanson, association director-cargo and conveyance security and controls.
Customs and Border Protection is considering offering trusted trader benefits to those in the e-commerce world, to improve compliance, said John Leonard, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, on a panel last week at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual conference. The hope is to "incentivize all these new actors in this space to improve the platforms and marketplaces, etc., to be more compliant," he said in Rancho Mirage, California. The agency will need to act quickly on an e-commerce policy "because it's already overtaking us," said Jim Swanson, association director-cargo and conveyance security and controls.