Coldwell Banker took a tempered view of the smart home in an August newsletter sent by agents to prospective home buyers. The newsletter featured an article that first appeared in real estate industry trade publication RISMedia in June, titled “Smart Homes: The Way of the Future or a Risk to Homeowners?” The article posed the question to prospective home buyers: “What is the true cost of this convenience?”
ATLANTA -- China's inaction in the face of accusations of unfair trade practices continues to drive the dispute between it and the U.S., Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish said while speaking at the CBP 2018 Trade Symposium on Aug. 15. "I recognize that many of you may have concerns about the tariffs being imposed. However, I can assure you these actions were not taken lightly," he said. The tariffs follow many years of failed discussions with the Chinese, including under the current administration, "in which the Chinese had repeatedly made commitments to correct their harmful, unfair and distortive actions and then refused to honor those commitments," he said.
CBP shouldn't require Air Cargo Advance Screening filings for each cargo loading for flights to the U.S., the Express Association of America and Cargo Airline Association said in joint comments filed in response to the ACAS interim rule that took effect in June (see 1806110043). The groups said CBP should remove a footnote that requires ACAS data filings "for the cargo loaded on each leg of the flight prior to loading of that cargo." Comments are due Aug. 13.
BluJay Solutions acquired Grosvenor International Systems, a customs and compliance solutions company for UK and European markets, BluJay said in a news release. Grosvenor "is a great match for BluJay’s global single-window Customs platform," said Lorenzo Rossetti, Grosvenor’s customs development director. "Our technology is modern and flexible, which will allow for rapid integration. In the UK, 80 percent of import customs declarations are ‘self-filed’ away from the border by importers or customs brokers, allowing for speedy movement of goods through the port/airport. We generate approximately 35 percent of those self-filed declarations in the UK, so you know our system and processes are rock-solid.”
The Food and Drug Administration posted its updated list of filer evaluation outcomes for August 2018. The frequency of filer evaluations depends on the number of lines filed by the company. An outcome of "paperless" means FDA has determined that electronic filing is appropriate, while "corrective action plan" means FDA has found an elevated error rate and has directed the filer to fix the issue, and "dual-mode filer" means the company has failed to implement corrective action plans and has been returned to dual-mode (paper and electronic) filing. The following filer evaluation outcomes were updated in FDA's August 2018 list:
Upcoming changes to how CBP assigns ACE client representatives will result in many customs brokers and importer self-filers assigned to new representatives, but won’t completely shut off direct communication with client reps as rumored (see 1807310032), CBP officials said on an Aug. 1 call with the trade community to discuss the initiative. Under the new scheme, brokers and self-filers will be assigned to the same client rep as their Automated Broker Interface vendor or service center, said Steve Zaccaro, CBP’s client rep branch chief. Some vendors may also have to be reassigned between client reps to redistribute the current workload. Though CBP will take a case-by-case approach and may allow brokers and self-filers to stay with their current rep in “unique” circumstances,” most brokers and self-filers will be assigned to new client reps as a result of the change, Zaccaro said.
CBP will increase Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) fees by 4.886 percent to adjust for inflation in fiscal year 2019, the agency said in a notice. Affected fees include the merchandise processing fee, vessel and truck arrival fees and the customs broker permit user fee. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, passed in 2015, required that CBP make inflation adjustments and fee limitations when deemed necessary (see 1512040024). CBP increased the fees by 2.677 percent last year (see 1710310044). The fees are effective Oct. 1.
CBP is "transitioning to a new model for how we assign broker and importer self-filers to client representatives," the agency said in a July 30 CSMS message. The agency will host webinars on Aug. 1 and Aug. 8 to discuss the changes, it said. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is concerned the changes may mean "our direct contact with vital [Automated Broker Interface] client representatives will be cut off," the group said in a July 31 email.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 16-20 in case they were missed.
Power Tek Tool and Lyke Industrial Tool used evasion to avoid antidumping duties on diamond sawblades from China, CBP said in a July 20 final determination. The final determination stems from an allegation filed by the Diamond Sawblades Manufacturer Coalition (DSMC) under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) and the follow-up investigation started by CBP (see 1709250035). CBP found that "substantial evidence" showed the companies imported diamond sawblades from China "but did not declare the AD order upon entry; and, as a result, no cash deposits were applied to the merchandise."