The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) should reconsider its "unfair and unnecessarily adverse" interpretation of antiboycott regulations for "vessel eligible certificates," the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) said in a filing with BIS (here). The association complained that the BIS Office of Antiboycott Compliance (OAC) has taken a problematic stance as to how it considers such certificates, hurting exporters and forwarding agents as a result. Antiboycott laws restrict U.S. companies' compliance with Arab-country laws that call for a boycott of any dealings with Israel, including use of Israeli ports.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 14-17 in case they were missed.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – There’s already some concerns with the recently proposed revision to CBP Form 5106 and the amount of information CBP is seeking, said panelists and brokers during the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 17. With several new efforts underway to better identify importers – 5106, bona fides, Known Importer program -- there also remain some unanswered questions as to what the exact expectation of the broker will be, some said. The proposed 5106 includes a number of new data fields for a wide variety of corporate information on the importer (see 14100815), which will in turn help guide the formation of revised guidance for gathering importer bona fides.
CBP rejected a protest filed by Kenton Tobacco that asked the agency to reclassify tobacco under "actual use" tariff provisions despite being previously entered under a different subheading. The July 18 ruling, HQ H240589, also looked at whether broker error, which the company said resulted in the misclassification, can negate the requirements for actual use provision declarations. The ruling, a further review of protest, found that a declaration had to be made at time of entry for classification under the actual use provision. The actual use provisions at issue requires the importer to demonstrate the planned use for the unmanufactured tobacco.
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Fred Higdon, executive director of the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of Northern California died suddenly on Oct. 4, following a brief illness, said the association. Higdon, 74, was executive director since 2008.
The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking comment on its heavily revised proposed rulemaking on Ocean Transport Intermediaries (here). While the original proposal (see 13053031) was a source of concern for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (see 13041004), the updated version strips out a number of the controversial pieces of the rule (see 14092217). Comments are due Dec. 12.
The European textile and apparel industry is pushing for regulatory harmonization with the U.S. through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, namely by streamlining labeling rules and customs procedures, a European Union association called Euratex said in a position paper released during the last TTIP talks. The latest round wrapped up on Oct. 3, and negotiators focused on progress made in services trade and some technical regulations (see 14100616).
CBP is continuing to work on how to structure the planned customs broker continuing education requirements, said Troy Riley, executive director of Commercial Targeting and Enforcement at CBP. Riley spoke briefly on the subject during the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting on Oct. 7. There's been a number of discussions on "what type of models should even be considered," he said. "There's been a discussion on a board of directors model, a market model," and consideration of how the Department of Education and Council for Higher Education Accreditation have handled accreditation, he said. There has not been a decision on where to go "just yet," he said. The question of how to handle continuing education accreditation has been a difficult issue as the agency works toward adding requirements (see 14041002).
CBP posted a draft update to the CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) that includes the addition of a "Known Importer" indicator. The program, as suggested by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, would allow brokers to flag entries for clients that have gone over a questionnaire providing to the broker various information on their importing practices (see 13041124). The flag is hoped to eventually allow the importer to obtain benefits from CBP, possibly including targeting. A CBP official recently said it would begin collecting such information in January (see 14091609). Earlier this year, NCBFAA asked CBP to create an entry flag for the program, which is an industry initiative rather than an official agency pilot (see 14041502).