Changes to the CBP's allowed response period for corrections to continuous bonds were clarified by the agency following concerns raised by industry, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America on its website (here). The International Trade Surety Association expressed some worry after CBP issued a final rule on the centralization of the continuous bond program in November (see 1511120010), said the NCBFAA. CBP's revenue division told ITSA that it will continue its practice of using a "buffer" period before actually turning "the bond off."
The Energy Department on Dec. 29 issued a proposed rule (here) that would require the filing in the Automated Commercial Environment at time of entry of “certifications of admissibility” for each shipment of products covered by DOE energy efficiency standards. Filers would be required to submit data elements referring to importers’ annual certifications if on file in DOE’s Compliance and Certification Management System. If not, filers would have to submit data on the specific product being imported. Additional data would be required if the product is a component incorporated into a final product. New filing requirements would take effect two years after publication of any final rule, said DOE. Comments on the proposed rule are due Feb. 12.
The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for Dec. 28 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):
Disagreements whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the trade legislation on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and congressional staffer. The House passed the bill, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), Dec. 11, but the Senate hasn't scheduled a vote on the bill.
Disagreements whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the trade legislation on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and congressional staffer. The House passed the bill, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), Dec. 11, but the Senate hasn't scheduled a vote on the bill.
Disagreements whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the trade legislation on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and congressional staffer. The House passed the bill, Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (HR-644), Dec. 11, but the Senate hasn't scheduled a vote on the bill.
Disagreements over whether a proposed permanent ban on Internet access taxes should have been included in customs reauthorization legislation have left the bill stalled in the Senate and fogged up the prospect for quick movement of the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015” to a vote on the Senate floor. Because that language was inserted into the act’s conference report after being omitted from the original customs bills passed by the House and Senate, it could be subject to a point of order, which supporters of the ban would need 60 votes to waive, said a lobbyist and Congressional staffer. The House passed the bill on Dec. 11, but the Senate has yet to schedule a vote on the bill.
Akin Gump hired Tyson Smith, previously a consultant with TradeMoves, as a customs and international trade specialist in the Washington office, the law firm said (here). Smith is a licensed customs broker and will work with Akin Gump clients on tariff classification, valuation and binding rulings, among other things, the firm said.
Provisions of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that may force the U.S. to make major changes to how it assesses the merchandise processing fee (MPF) is getting attention on Capitol Hill, a Congressional staffer said. Article 2.15 of the recently agreed text, which still requires approval from Congress, provides that "no party shall levy fees and charges on or in connection with importation or exportation on an ad valorem basis." MPF, which is currently charged at an ad valorem rate of 0.3464% on formal entries, with per entry minimums and maximums, would have to be converted into a flat fee in order to comply, said one staffer.
CBP is working on a new Form 3461 for filing “walk-up” entries and requests for release during broker or Automated Commercial Environment system outages, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in an update. Current downtime procedures will continue to apply after the ACE transition, with CBP accepting either the new Form 3461 or a cover sheet that includes the same information, said the agency, according to the NCBFAA.