The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (here), signed into law Feb. 24, includes an overhaul of current law on drawback, including provisions for substitute drawback at the eight-digit level and a uniform five-year deadline for claims. It also increases the de minimis limit to $800, exempts container residue from duties, and eliminates an exemption from import bans on goods produced with forced labor. Finally, the law holds CBP to stricter reliquidation timelines, and fixes legislation enacted last year that would have resulted in higher tariffs on recreational performance outerwear.
The Federal Maritime Commission wants public input on possible amendments to the agency's rules on service contracts and non-vessel operating common carrier service arrangements, it said in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (here). Among the issues the agency is seeking comment on are its definition of "affiliate" within the regulations, an extension to the time a service contract correction request can be filed and possible "metadata" requirements for service contracts, it said. The FMC is also considering regulatory changes to allow "a service contract amendment to be filed individually and sequentially within 30 days of its effectiveness" or "any number of service contract amendments to be consolidated into a single document, but filed within 30 days of the effective date of the earliest of all amendments contained in the document." The FMC began work on the regulatory review in September of 2013 and "informally solicited views from various stakeholders in order to gather a broad range of perspectives," it said. Among those that provided comments were the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, beneficial cargo owners, NVOCCs and shippers associations, it said. Comments are due March 30.
The Bureau of Industry and Security should modify a proposed rule that would “significantly” alter the factors that BIS considers when setting penalties in various enforcement cases, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in comments to the agency (here). The group said the rule (see 1512240003) could harm forwarders, NVOCCs, and exporters that might have -- “inadvertently or not” -- violated the Export Administration Regulations. The proposed changes are meant to make administrative penalties more predictable and better aligned with those used by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, BIS said in December (here). NCBFAA said it appreciates BIS’ effort to mesh its penalty enforcement guidelines with OFAC’s, but argues that, if enacted, the rule could birth an “unduly rigid enforcement mechanism.” The organization asserts the proposed process appears to be less flexible than the current one, and it believes the rule will likely prompt more enforcement cases and boost penalty amounts.
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.