International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 27-31 in case they were missed.
CBP issued Brian Feito, associate editor at International Trade Today, a customs broker license on Oct. 16. The license, approved by CBP Assistant Commissioner for the Office of International Trade Brenda Smith, was delivered through the Port of Washington, D.C.
Customs brokers are "encouraged" to email the customs release documents for mail parcels that require formal entry, said the Port of Los Angeles in a public bulletin. The Los Angeles International Mail Facility is six miles from the centralized entry processing site and delivery of the form is usually "by mail, messenger service or fax," said CBP. Instead, brokers should email forms 3509 and 3461 release documents to laximf3461@cbp.dhs.gov, the notice said.
Using CBP’s website on a mobile device to find rules-of-origin information does not make for an easy experience, even for the agency’s own employees. Craig Briess, international trade lawyer at the agency, found this first hand during a recent meeting on the African Growth and Opportunity Act with the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, during which he needed various regulatory information, he said during an interview. The mobile experience was far too difficult, which is why Briess set out to create a new mobile friendly site, customsmobile.com.
The European Union extended through the end of 2015 trade preferences for Ukraine, initially put into effect in April 2014 and previously due to expire on Nov. 1. The preferences, granted unilaterally, slash customs duties for the vast majority of Ukrainian industrial products, agriculture and processed food products (here). The measures aim to boost the Ukrainian economy after conflict in that country began to negatively affect its economy, and they also set the stage for the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement, brokered in 2012 between the EU and Ukraine, to enter into force on Jan. 1, 2016.
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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