The World Customs Organization should implement the Revised Kyoto Convention and shift from a dependency on paper documents to a full e-Customs environment, said the Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG) in a position paper. GACAG said harmonization of global customs procedures will be critical to establishing e-Customs platforms and said the entire air cargo industry will support the effort.
CBP will add air cargo in-bond functionality to the Automated Broker Interface on Nov. 5, the agency said in a CSMS message. ABI in-bond requests, which are currently being tested, may only be transmitted for air waybills that have been transmitted and accepted in the Air Automated Manifest System, said CBP. CBP also provided a set of tips on using air in-bonds:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 1-5 in case they were missed.
The Obama administration should reconsider its preliminary decision to terminate the agreement suspending an antidumping investigation of Mexican tomatoes, the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) said in an Oct. 18 letter to the president. The International Trade Administration recently posted its preliminary results of the changed circumstances review of fresh tomatoes from Mexico, potentially leading to a new antidumping investigation and the imposition of AD duties. (See ITT's Online Archives 12092821 for summary of the preliminary results.)
CBP posted an updated "Trade Transformation" guide, providing a list of some of the remaining questions to consider as it moves toward a rewrite of broker regulations. The document also now includes a list of Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) capabilities, descriptions of ACE goals and the impacts of certain capabilities.
Oct. 18-21 Pacific Coast Council of Brokers & Freight Forwarders Assns. Wesccon, Loews Coronado Bay Resort, San Diego -- www.wesccon.com
CBP posted documents on changes to the Customs and Trade Interface Requirements (CATAIR). The updates will change usage notes text to allow for entry type 03 to be filed via remote location filing (RLF) and remove “First Sale” filing requirements, said CBP. CBP previously said it was targeting mid-October for RLF 03 entries and would look to expand the RLF program rather than overhauling customs broker permitting requirements.
With U.S. Agent liability set to begin for Food and Drug Administration foreign facility reinspection fees, a bevy of questions still surrounds the issue. The fees, which can reach $289 per hour for fiscal year 2013, have been in effect since Oct. 1, 2011. But FDA still hasn’t begun invoicing for the fees, and will only do so once it finalizes a guidance on small business fee reductions. Biannual foreign facility registration renewal, which is statutorily required to run Oct. 1-Dec. 31 of this year and would include designation of U.S. Agents by foreign facilities, has also been delayed pending “finalization of related guidance documents,” said an FDA spokeswoman. And many customs brokers have removed themselves as U.S. Agents to avoid liability, said Roger Clarke of customs broker Williams Clarke Co. “It is unknown how this will play out with a shortened registration period, no published guidelines or updated Q&A, and a reduced number of possible U.S. Agents,” he said.
CBP posted the October 2012 customs broker exam (here) and answer key (here).
The Food and Drug Administration’s internal reorganization will streamline interactions between importers and FDA headquarters, but won’t have much impact on FDA’s operations in the field, according to several industry sources. The reorganization, announced in an internal FDA fact sheet dated Sept. 10, will create a new Office of Import Operations and Enforcement (OIOE). The new office, which will remain in the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), will combine the operational side of the FDA Division of Import Operations and Policy with the existing Office of Enforcement.