Supply chain professionals and trade group executives praised the progress U.S. government agencies have made in trade facilitation, and pointed to areas where they could still make progress, during the Global Supply Chain Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on May 22. The Unified Cargo Processing pilot, which is soon expanding from seven ports of entry to nine (see 1803300020), has reduced crossing time by up to 75 percent, according to Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas. He also talked about how private industry can help CBP be more business friendly, such as with private dollars helping to fund a 3.5-mile shortcut from the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales, Arizona, to the highway. He said they're lobbying CBP to set up a donations acceptance program to build a cold storage inspection facility at a port of entry, too. He said his group would also like to see Canada try unified cargo processing with CBP.
Supply chain professionals and trade group executives praised the progress U.S. government agencies have made in balancing trade facilitation and enforcement, and pointed to areas where they could still make progress, during the May 22 Global Supply Chain Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Lev Kubiak, who spent 24 years as a special agent at the Department of Homeland Security, now is deputy chief security officer for Pfizer. Kubiak said Pfizer is trying to help CBP and Homeland Security Investigations with the information they collects around the world. U.S. customs officials don't automatically receive seizure notices for actions done in other countries. "There is no institutional mechanism for customs services to share that information with other customs services," he said.
CBP will prioritize Section 321 filing via the Automated Broker Interface, an update to CBP Form 5106 importer information, and modernizing foreign-trade zone “e214” admissions, among other new and revised functionalities, with the additional $30 million in ACE funding it received in fiscal year 2018 appropriations legislation, CBP said in an announcement on its website May 22.
CBP will prioritize Section 321 filing via the Automated Broker Interface, an update to CBP Form 5106 importer information, and modernizing foreign-trade zone “e214” admissions, among other new and revised functionalities, with the additional $30 million in ACE funding it received in fiscal year 2018 appropriations legislation, CBP said in an announcement on its website May 22.
Voxx International expects sales in its premium audio segment, which includes Klipsch, to “decline modestly” in fiscal 2019 ending in February, “as we have made strategic decisions to cut back certain programs and relationships to protect margins,” said CEO Pat Lavelle on a Tuesday earnings call. “Based on this, we expect a much stronger bottom-line performance by the premium audio group.”
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 7-11 in case they were missed.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America announced several new officers and board members at its recent annual conference in Rancho Mirage, California, it said in an emailed update. Joining Amy Magnus as new NCBFAA president (see 1805020067) are new Vice President Janet Fields of John S. James; new Treasurer Scott Larson of MOL Logistics; and new Secretary Gerald Becnel of J.W. Allen. Former NCBFAA President Geoffrey Powell will assume the role of NCBFAA chairman, the trade group said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its spring 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes a first mention of a final rule involving vessel repair unit locations. CBP regulations require "that when a vessel subject to the vessel repair statute first arrives into the United States or Puerto Rico following a foreign voyage, the owner, master, or authorized agent must submit a vessel repair declaration to CBP." Currently, the vessel repair entry is filed at the Vessel Repair Unit in New Orleans, but the regulations confusingly list two other VRUs, CBP said. The final rule removes the mentions of other VRUs.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its spring 2018 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes a first mention of a final rule involving vessel repair unit locations. CBP regulations require "that when a vessel subject to the vessel repair statute first arrives into the United States or Puerto Rico following a foreign voyage, the owner, master, or authorized agent must submit a vessel repair declaration to CBP." Currently, the vessel repair entry is filed at the Vessel Repair Unit in New Orleans, but the regulations confusingly list two other VRUs, CBP said. The final rule removes the mentions of other VRUs.
U.S. companies are “market leaders” in development and sale of smart thermostats, and would be the hardest hit if the Trump administration imposes 25 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, the Advanced Energy Management Alliance said in comments posted May 10. The alliance, whose members include green energy services providers, but also Nest, Tesla and Walmart, wants the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to remove automatic thermostats in HTS subheading 9032.10.00 from its list of products targeted for the tariffs, it said. Chinese companies “do not have a meaningful presence in the U.S. market” for smart thermostats, it said. “Therefore, if USTR were to impose duties on smart thermostats, the impact of the duties would fall primarily on U.S. companies. In addition to the harm this would cause to the U.S. companies and their American workers, the additional duties would increase prices for the millions of U.S. families who rely on smart thermostats to control their energy costs and [would] discourage their use.”