A company that sold Nicaraguan cheese in transit before entry cannot claim Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) benefits on the cheese because it is not the importer, even though it is still listed as importer of record on entry documentation, the Court of International Trade said in a recent decision (here).
Recently introduced bills meant to realign executive trade authorities with Congress appear unlikely to progress quickly, if at all, interviews with a senator and trade analysts indicated. The bills follow some recent debate over the legal authority the executive branch has to make tariff changes (see 1612150045 and 1611150035). Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Jan. 20 introduced S. 177, the Global Trade Accountability Act (here), which would make all executive branch trade actions, including tariff raises and reductions, subject to congressional approval. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., on Jan. 24 introduced H. Con. Res. 14, “Reclaiming Congress’s Constitutional Mandate in Trade Resolution,” which initiates planning for a shift of Office of the U.S. Trade Representative functions and responsibilities to Congress (here).
A new clause in NYK Line's bill of lading terms and conditions involving the verified gross mass (VGM) amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) seems "inappropriate and contravenes" U.S. law, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a Feb. 3 filing with the Federal Maritime Commission (here). The NCBFAA specifically objects to the addition in clause 15 of the terms (here) that say the shipper is responsible for weighing costs and must provide the VGM for each container by a deadline established by a terminal or NYK. The clause also says NYK can reject a container "at its sole option" if no VGM is provided by the deadline and that the carrier won't be liable for any costs related to a rejection. The controversial VGM requirements went into effect last year (see 1607010041), though there's been little public controversy around the updated SOLAS since.
Licensed customs brokers can't pay a referral fee to an unlicensed third party that promotes the brokers' services if the fee is tied to entry transactions, CBP said in a Dec. 29 ruling (here). Welke Customs Brokers USA sought a Customs ruling on whether it could enter into such an arrangement with two local non-profits. Brokers are barred from paying out commissions to unlicensed parties that are a percentage of a fee paid for broker services, the agency said.
The updates to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule that took effect Jan. 1 (see 1701050035) and changed the HTS codes for multilayered wood flooring don't affect the applicability of antidumping orders on such products from China, the International Wood Products Association said in a Jan. 26 email. Antidumping orders are based on the written language of the scope and any HTS codes provided "aren't directly associated," the IWPA said. Even so, "a number of brokers are apparently running into problems because the ACE system hasn’t been updated to recognize the new entry codes," the trade group said. Asked about the issue, CBP told the IWPA "ACE will accept entry lines filed with HTS numbers that are not yet in the AD/CVD case reference file HTS tab," according to the IWPA. "Filing the entries as such WILL NOT create a reject. An informational message is all that will be sent back to the broker. It will allow entry as a type 03 with the case number added. If no case number is added then it will not allow a type 03 entry."
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recently ended e-filing alpha pilot went relatively smoothly, but expansion of e-filing to more entries could drastically increase costs, pilot participants said during a meeting with Consumer Product Safety Commission officials on Jan. 26 (here). Required data was mostly easy to obtain, but the manual process most used during the ACE pilot for entering data in CPSC’s data registry and tying it to entries will become burdensome as filing expands. Customs brokers at the meeting said the pilot went well. However, the complex disclaimer process CPSC anticipates using means the commission will need to be careful about the scope of its PGA message set, participants said.
BGI Worldwide Logistics hired Giselle Rodriguez as an in-house customs broker, the company said in a news release (here). Rodriguez joined the company as its manager, U.S. customhouse broker services and compliance, BGI said. "We are committed to providing the best import/export experiences for our international clients, BGI CEO Gabriel Shweiri said. "We believe that adding a licensed customs broker to our services portfolio delivers an exceptional import logistics capability for our new and existing clients.”
CBP should look at a consignee as the importer of record (IOR) for transactions with the Centers of Excellence and Expertise to allow for express courier broker participation, UPS subsidiary UPS Supply Chain Solutions said in comments to CBP (here). UPS submitted the comments in response to CBP's interim final rule that made regulatory changes for the CEE and went into effect Jan. 19 (see 1612190014). "CBP currently does not obtain the entire importer picture as the CEE is designed without looking at the 'ship to' party (formerly consignee) as the party that caused the importation," the company said. As an "industry sector, we face unique challenges when acting as importer of record," it said.
CBP under the Trump administration should start by addressing several open issues related to imports of goods below the de minimis threshold, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a letter (here). The NCBFAA wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Steven Mnuchin, the nominee to head the Treasury Department, on Jan. 20 with a list of priorities. The trade group raised concerns about the lack of targeting on goods that are below the de minimis level, which increased to $800 from $200 last year (see 1608250029). Imports below the de minimis level, known as Section 321 releases, can receive faster CBP processing.
President-elect Donald Trump's transition team trade-related actions so far give a mixed message for how the incoming administration will conduct trade policy, Jon Kent, legislative representative for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said during a Jan. 17 webinar. “Everybody is wondering where things are going, what will happen, and that question is being shared by the Washington so-called ‘insider community,’ that is hearing a great number of mixed messages, different signals, and none of them creating a streamlined pattern for people to follow so that they can speak with any assurance as to what will happen,” he said. Customs policy development will likely be addressed “at a later time” after the Senate confirms top administration personnel into their positions, Kent said.