PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Upcoming changes to Canadian border processes will be a “game changer” for the clearance process, Kim Campbell of Mkmarin Trade Services said on Oct. 20. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) is set to be implemented by the end of 2020, allowing e-commerce customers to fill out their own customs declarations and eliminating the entry process for commercial importers, she said, speaking at the Western Cargo Conference. Other initiatives will allow truck cargo to cross the border without stopping, through the use of radio frequency ID tags and facial recognition software, she said.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- CBP is increasing staffing levels at its Office of Regulatory Audit to keep up with “the revenue on the table” from the recent imposition of new tariffs and the Trump administration’s push for more enforcement, said Tom Jesukiewicz, field director of regulatory audit’s Los Angeles office, at the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 20.
The Food and Drug Administration released the new import filer evaluation procedures and some early feedback on the procedures in an Oct. 12 letter to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. "The process is now final and is the expected method of conducting filer evaluations by all our field offices," said John Verbeten, director of the FDA's Division of Import Operations. "Of course, with any new program, especially one national in scope, there will be an adjustment period and both FDA and the filing community should be prepared for hiccups; continuing our good communication will be key in getting the program running smoothly." The agency also provided a flow chart of how the evaluations work. The FDA said in September it began the new processes and it planned to provide details to the NCBFAA (see 1809250041).
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- CBP recently began its “360 degree” assessment of lessons learned from its “proof of concept” on the use of blockchain technology for NAFTA and CAFTA certificates of origin, said Vincent Annunziato, director of CBP’s Business Transformation and Innovation office, at the Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON) on Oct. 19. A report on the test should be done in November, though there’s no word yet on how the report will be released.
Changes to de minimis is the most significant change from NAFTA in customs administration and trade facilitation under the rewritten agreement, practitioners say, but exactly how that will work in practice is still unknown. Shipments from the U.S. or Canada into Mexico will not face duties if they are valued at less than $117, and will not have to pay tax if they are valued at less than $50. Shipments into Canada from NAFTA partner countries will be tax-free if valued under 40 Canadian dollars, and duty-free at under 150 Canadian. (Mexico's $117 limit matches C$150 at current exchange rates.)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its fall 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes a new mention of a proposed rulemaking involving Privacy Act exemptions for some information collected through the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT). "In this proposed rulemaking, the Department proposes to exempt portions of the system of records from one or more provisions of the Privacy Act because of criminal, civil, and administrative enforcement requirements," CBP said. The agency is aiming to issue the proposal in February, it said.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 17 (some may also be given separate headlines):
Steel tubing made in the U.S. that is sent to Mexico for painting and other treatments and then returned to the U.S is not subject to the Section 232 tariffs, CBP said in a July 31 ruling. The ruling, NY N298549, was requested by customs broker Alex Romero on behalf of Merchant Metals. The request focused on "the country of origin of steel tubing/pipe for use as fence posts in ornamental fence panels," CBP said.
CBP must issue final regulations on drawback under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act by Dec. 17, 2018, the Court of International Trade said in an Oct. 12 decision. Capping a contentious case brought by a set of customs brokers and importers (see 1803260048), CIT Judge Jane Restani ordered that the final regulations must take effect immediately on Dec. 17, except for certain excise tax drawback provisions that may take effect 60 days later.
CBP will not move forward with plans for a wide-ranging reorganization of its ACE customer support office after receiving negative feedback from the trade community, said Steve Zaccaro, chief of the agency’s Client Representative Branch, on a conference call held Oct. 4. The agency will reassign some software vendors, importers and brokers currently assigned to overburdened client representatives, but the “vast majority” will not be affected by the changes, he said.