On April 8, 2004, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee amended and approved S. 2279, the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2004.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site the April 2004 Customs broker exam and answer key.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued several notices requesting written comments from the public and other federal agencies by July 6, 2004 regarding the following unchanged information collections that it intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval and extension of the expiration date:
According to sources at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Phase 3 of the FDA/U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discretionary enforcement plan for the Prior Notice (PN) requirements of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (Bioterrorism Act) is to be implemented on May 19, 2004 (instead of May 13, 2004).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message announcing that full Automated Broker Interface (ABI) edits for prior notice (PN) of imported food will not be turned on until May 19, 2004 (from May 13, 2004).
On May 5, 2004, the House Ways and Means Committee amended and ordered reported (i.e., approved) H.R. 4103, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Acceleration Act of 2004. (This bill is often referred to as "AGOA III.")
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice stating that, effective May 5, 2004, the trade may transmit U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA) Integrated Sourcing Initiative (ISI) claims under HTS 9999.00.84 through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) system.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently posted to its Web site Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) which CBP states addresses certain recurring questions for Customs brokers regarding trade names and corporations, as follows:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its April 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Modernization newsletter, which is highlighted below:
American Shipper has reported that the European Union was poised to implement the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) solid wood packing material (SWPM) standard in the spring of 2004. However, it has now dropped this initiative due to the admittance of 10 new member countries from Eastern Europe. American Shipper states that a new implementation date has yet to be set. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has also posted an update to its Web site stating that Australia has proposed draft requirements for imported SWPM that are to become effective July 1, 2004. See APHIS' SWPM Web page for more information http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/swp/industry/index.html. (American Shipper Pub May 2004 www.americanshipper.com)