The White House is reviewing a draft proclamation about the five-year Harmonized Tariff Schedule update to implement changes to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a Dec. 20 email to members. "For the WCO HS2022 to be effective, a proclamation from the White House must be published in the Federal Register," the trade group said. "These new tariff changes will then go into effect 30 days following publication. We have learned that a draft proclamation has been provided to the White House for review." CBP recently said the changes wouldn't take effect Jan. 1 and that it planned to continue to use the current HTS until more guidance is given (see 2112170068).
The Seafood Import Monitoring Program Expansion that was going to be in the bipartisan infrastructure bill did not become law, but H.R. 3075 passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee in October, and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is warning the majority leader that he should not schedule a vote in the chamber for the bill.
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 6-12:
The Senate confirmed Tucson, Arizona, Police Chief Chris Magnus as CBP commissioner on a vote of 50-47 on Dec. 7. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote for him. The agency hasn't had a confirmed leader since 2019.
The Senate confirmed Tucson, Arizona, Police Chief Chris Magnus as CBP commissioner on a vote of 50-47 on Dec. 7. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote for him. The agency hasn't had a confirmed leader since 2019.
CBP unfairly denied importer Compressed Air Systems' protest showing that it overpaid duties and fees for its air compressor and vacuum pump part entries, CAS argued in its Dec. 7 complaint at the Court of International Trade. Due to a clerical error committed by the customs broker, the entries were overvalued, CAS said. CBP then refused to fix the error after the importer protested CBP's liquidation of the entries, leading the company to file suit with the trade court (Compressed Air Systems, LLC v. CBP, CIT #21-00615).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Senate confirmed Tucson, Arizona, Police Chief Chris Magnus as CBP commissioner on a vote of 50-47 on Dec. 7. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the only Republican to vote for him. The agency hasn't had a confirmed leader since 2019.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America urged its members to share information about where their employees work, and to make calls to their representatives so that a temporary change to bankruptcy law that benefits brokers does not expire at the end of the year. The group "had several calls over the last couple weeks to rally congressional members to support" the Customs Business Fairness Act, Legislative Committee Chair Laurie Arnold said. “The overwhelming comment we receive during these conversations is ‘how many constituents are in my district that this would help?’ It is very difficult for us to give a good answer since we don’t have a complete list from our members.” This year, if an importer declares bankruptcy, the duties that brokers passed through to CBP in the 90 days before the bankruptcy filing are not subject to clawback. But if the provision expires, NCBFAA says, "We are left in the middle holding the bag and potentially on the line to hand over millions of dollars, depending on the size of the importer, to the bankruptcy trustee." The group lobbied for more than 20 years to get this change, "and we now have it," they wrote in an advisory to members. "Don’t let it slip away!"