International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for 2016 in case they were missed.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing a final rule (here) amending its regulations to require electronic filing of permit applications, import and export declarations, and other required filings and reports for the importation and exportation of controlled substances, listed chemicals, and tableting and encapsulating machines. The agency is eliminating paper filing of most DEA-required submissions entirely, instead requiring importers and exporters to file via the DEA Office of Diversion Control secure network application, it said.
CBP will make numerous regulatory changes to reflect the Centers of Excellence and Expertise as a component of the agency, it said in an interim final rule (here). Among other things, the interim rule officially shifts responsibilities from the port directors to the CEE directors, CBP said. The new rule also describes the process by which importers will be assigned to Centers and the appeals process for their Center assignments, CBP said. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act required CBP to implement the CEE (see 1602170074). The interim rule will be effective Jan. 19.
The debate surrounding World Trade Organization compliance of border adjustability provisions being discussed by House GOP leaders will likely center on whether any changes would maintain a U.S. tax deduction for labor costs, said tax analysts in recent interviews. There's a growing discussion over border adjustability provisions mentioned in the House GOP tax blueprint and if such tax changes would violate WTO rules for import and export treatment (see 1612140046). The framework would exempt exports from taxes through rebates while making imports taxable. WTO rules prohibit such a system if part of a direct tax, or income-based, framework. The blueprint tries to steer clear of any violation by employing a “consumption-based” tax approach (see 1612010056). Still, outside observers would likely scrutinize whether any U.S. tax reform actually manifests a pure consumption tax in practice, and look beyond any label that government officials might attach to a proposal, analysts said.
An industry coalition petitioned the Federal Maritime Commission to issue new rules preventing common carriers and marine terminal operators from charging demurrage, detention and per diem fees during events beyond the control of shippers, including port congestion or disruption, bad weather and delays spurred by government action, according to the American Association of Footwear and Apparel (here). The no-charge period would start whenever a circumstance out of the control of shippers, receivers or motor carriers precludes a marine terminal or ocean carrier from tendering cargo or receiving equipment for delivery, according to the proposal. The petition was filed by the Coalition for Fair Port Practices, a group of 25 trade associations including the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), the AAFA and the National Retail Federation.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is setting new filing requirements at time of entry for imports of certain species of seafood the agency has deemed high-risk, in a final rule (here). Conceived as part of an administration-wide strategy to combat illegal, unreported and unregistered (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud (see 1503160016), filers will have to submit via ACE certain data elements and electronic documents with information on the fisher, the fish and how it was fished, in order to improve traceability of imports of the high-risk species. The importer of record must also maintain records on the chain of custody of their seafood imports, and obtain an International Fisheries Trade Permit for the high-risk species.
Trade industry representatives suggested to Fish and Wildlife Service officials during a recent meeting that it use a trusted trader program to help reduce some ACE data reporting requirements that are set to expand in 2017 (see 1611140019). Trade leaders met with the FWS officials during the East Coast Trade Symposium, according to an email from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. Several trade groups recently wrote a letter to FWS about the added data requirements (see 1611210004). During the meeting, "numerous proposals surfaced -- including a trusted trader concept that allowed companies to be vetted in advance," the NCBFAA said. William Woody, chief of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement "promised to address the issues raised and requested examples from the trade of where data would be required for regulated components of minimal value," the trade group said. Also discussed was the end to the Designated Port Exception Permit program, which allowed for FWS-regulated goods to enter at ports with no FWS staff present. "Woody acknowledged the consternation of ports such as Savannah and promised to work to resolve the budgetary and other issues that prompted the proposal," according to the NCBFAA. The meeting was led by Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs for the National Retail Federation, and Woody, the NCBFAA said.
CBP is unlikely to make new adverse inferences about companies that are unaware of antidumping or countervailing duty evasion allegations and don't respond to information requests, said Carrie Owens, acting CBP director of operations for Enforce and Protect Act and E-Allegations. Owens discussed the EAPA procedures and the use of adverse inference (see 1608190014) during a panel at the East Coast Trade Symposium on Dec. 2. "If a party is not aware it is being requested information pursuant to an EAPA investigation, my personal view is I'm unsure how we would then apply an adverse inference to that," she said. That includes responsiveness to Customs Form 28 that CBP may issue as part of the investigation, Owens said.
An importer of record database required under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (see 1602170074) may require additional work before some of what is described in the law can be put in place, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner with CBP's Office of International Trade. Smith and other officials discussed the issue with reporters during the East Coast Trade Symposium on Dec. 1. "There are a couple of ideas in that authorization bill about using brokers, polishing up a database and the way that we managed importer IDs," some of which is linked to CBP's planned updates to Form 5106 to include additional information about importers, she said. "Our intention is to report back to Congress about our progress in all of those areas and then we may need some additional support, whether it's statutory changes or automation investment, to make what they are looking for a reality. It's early days yet."
The 2017 annual user fee of $138 for each customs broker district permit and national permit held by an individual, partnership, association or corporation is due by Feb. 3, CBP said in a notice (here). This user fee is payable for each calendar year at the broker district through which the broker was issued a permit. CBP anticipates "that for subsequent years, the annual user fee for customs brokers will be due on the last business day of January of each year," it said.