The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for Feb. 24 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (here), signed into law by President Barack Obama on Feb. 24, establishes new requirements for customs brokers to verify the identities of their importer clients, as well as a new importer of record database. It also provides for CBP's National Targeting Center to issue "Trade Alerts" directing CBP port personnel to inspect high-risk merchandise, and directs CBP to accept private sector training on classification, appraisement, and other enforcement issues.
President Barack Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, formalizing the legislation as law on Feb. 24, the White House said. The new law marks the culmination of several years of discussion and debate largely over new antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement language. The enactment initiates a number of major changes to customs processing, such as new importer identification requirements for customs brokers, fixes to tariffs for recreational performance outerwear, and updates to reliquidation procedures. An increase of the "de minimis" threshold to $800 will take effect 15 days after enactment, with effective dates varying for other individual provisions. International Trade Today will provide a multi-part summary of the new law in coming issues.
The new processes for antidumping and countervailing duty evasion investigations and intellectual property rights protections are likely to be some of the first items addressed by the CBP once customs reauthorization legislation is signed by President Obama, said Alice Kipel, CBP's new executive director of regulations and rulings (ORR), during a Feb. 23 interview. Only about two months into her new job (see 1602120034), Kipel already faces the daunting task of prioritizing some of the biggest changes in the agency's long history. In addition to implementation to the customs bill, Kipel will help oversee the regulatory process for Automated Commercial Environment rules as well as look to improve speeds on customs rulings responses, she said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 16-19 in case they were missed.
Customs brokers play a central role in the Energy Department’s plans to require submission of “certifications of admissibility” data elements in the Automated Commercial Environment at time of entry for products such as consumer electronics that are subject to energy efficiency standards (see 1602100012), said DOE officials at a Friday workshop at DOE's Washington headquarters. A key to the agency’s proposal is that it will prompt brokers to ask their importer clients whether products included in a given entry are subject to energy efficiency standards, forcing the importer to consider whether testing and certification are required, the officials said.
Customs brokers play a central role in the Energy Department’s plans to require submission of “certifications of admissibility” data elements in the Automated Commercial Environment at time of entry for products subject to energy efficiency standards, said DOE officials speaking at a workshop held Feb. 19 in Washington. A key motive behind the agency’s proposal is that it will prompt brokers to ask their importer clients whether products included in a given entry are subject to energy efficiency standards, forcing the importer to consider whether testing and certification are required, they said.
Inchape Shipping Services' customs brokerage can now provide service across all North American ports following CBP's recent approval of a national broker permit for ISS Brokerage Services, the company said in a news release. ISS also said it named Theresa Bennington to be brokerage manager for North America.
Akin Gump posted a summary of some of the major parts of customs reauthorization legislation (here) that was recently passed by Congress and is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama (see 1602120029). The summary includes sections on new penalties for customs brokers, changes to drawback procedures, intellectual property rights protections and information requirements for importers of record. The outline also includes information on potentially quickly moving changes to de minimis levels, which "shall apply with respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the 15th day after the date of the enactment."
President Barack Obama intends to sign the comprehensive customs reauthorization legislation passed by the Senate on Feb. 11 (see 1602110018), White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement (here). Despite some concerns with the legislation's mention of Israel, the bill's "passage is an important milestone in our overall trade agenda," Earnest said of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. Among other things, the legislation (here) increases the de minimis level, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to draft new importer of record regulations, fixes tariffs for recreational performance outerwear, and updates reliquidation procedures.