ORLANDO, FLA. – CBP's Office of Regulations and Rulings is "preparing a number of proposed amendments" to customs broker regulations in 19 CFR Part 111, said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske while speaking at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America on April 21. Kerlikowske also lauded the movement of just-introduced customs legislation.
Drawback modernization, an increase in the de minimis level to $800, and an exemption from duties for container residue are components of the customs reauthorization bill set for inclusion in the package of trade legislation coming together in Congress, according to a summary of the draft bill from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah (here). The customs reauthorization bill, introduced in the Senate (here), would also provide for enhanced trade enforcement, including databases of new importers and importer of record numbers, the ability for CBP to share unredacted samples of articles suspected to infringe intellectual property rights, and timelines for formal CBP investigations of antidumping and countervailing duty evasion. Highlights of the summary, which was provided by Hatch in anticipation of a markup scheduled for April 22 (see 1504200054), are as follows:
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for April 20 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Trek Leather Decision on Corporate Officer Liability Confirms 40 Years of Precedent, Says Government
The recent court decision in Trek Leather on corporate employee liability for customs violations does nothing to expand the coverage of customs penalties to employees of corporate importers of record, said the U.S. government in a brief filed April 15 opposing a Supreme Court hearing of the case. Despite consternation from the trade industry that a September 2014 decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will cause upheaval by subjecting import compliance professionals to “massive penalties” for negligent misstatements on entry documentation (see 1503170027), the controversial decision merely served to confirm over 40 years of Court of International Trade precedent and the plain language of 19 USC 1592, said the government’s brief.
Lawmakers introduced trade preference renewal legislation that will include the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences and two tariff preference levels for imports from Haiti as part of a wider trade push. Those renewals and other trade bills are expected to progress alongside Trade Promotion Authority, introduced April 16, said Congressional aides. Though some details are still being worked out, a customs reauthorization bill is also expected to be part of the package, said the aides.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for April 15 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
CBP's update to customs broker regulations is "still in progress," though the agency went "back and forth" on whether to rewrite the entirety of Part 111, said Sandra Bell, deputy commissioner in CBP's Office of International Trade. Bell, who spoke April 15 at the American Apparel and Footwear Association customs conference, said the agency plans to update the regulations in multiple stages and the continuing education portion should be out "shortly."
The imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on intermodal shipping containers would lead to container shortages, longer shipping times, and increased costs, said a group of 22 industry associations in a letter to the International Trade Commission dated April 8 (here). The trade groups, including six regional customs broker associations, the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the U.S. Fashion Industry Association and the Retail Industry Leaders Association, urged the commission to end its AD/CVD investigations on 53-foot domestic dry containers from China with a finding of no injury to domestic industry and no duties imposed.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on March 31 denied a bid from the owners of several Land Rovers to save their vehicles from forfeiture for import violations. CBP had seized the Land Rovers after finding their entry documentation falsely claimed the vehicles were old enough to qualify for exemptions from Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation requirements. The owners of the vehicles argued that the forfeiture should not proceed because some of the vehicles are now old enough for the exemption. However, the court found that the customs law on forfeiture “does not accommodate vehicles that later ‘come into compliance’ due the passage of time.”
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 30 - April 3 in case they were missed.