The Federal Maritime Commission has issued a proposed rule that would increase the amount of bond coverage required in its optional China Bond Rider for Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carriers so that total NVOCC financial responsibility would equal 800,000 Chinese Renminbi (RMB) under current exchange rates. The proposed rule would also provide a method for NVOCCs to demonstrate financial responsibility by aggregating the total coverage of a bond and all of its riders. Comments are due by March 12, 2012.
Trade and other sources state that U.S. Customs and Border Protection could maintain its momentum in the development of the Automated Commercial Environment, even without a Presidential appointee as Commissioner.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have issued statistics on their fiscal year 2011 intellectual property rights seizures. The statistics show that while the number of seized counterfeit goods has increased since FY 2010, their value has dropped due to an increased number of low-value seizures, including more seizures of express courier and consolidated shipments. The report also shows that FY 2011 is the first time since FY 2005 that footwear was not the top commodity seized and the first time handbags/wallets/backpacks were not on the "Top Commodities Seized" list.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a 2009 Great Idea Form (GIF) on a request from the trade community for the ability of Customs brokers to upload employee information from an Excel spreadsheet to the ACE Portal to meet the 19 CFR Part 111 requirement to provide CBP with a list of broker employees. The GIF notes that the functionality delivered with ESAR A1 does not allow the mid to large size broker to take advantage of the ACE Portal for this requirement.
A federal judge in Denver postponed for the second time the trial of two Executive Recycling officials charged with dumping e-waste illegally overseas. The officials, Executive Recycling CEO Brandon Richter and Vice President of Operations Tor Olson, pocketed millions of dollars by shipping tons of CRTs to unscrupulous brokers in Hong Kong in violation of EPA rules, an indictment charged (CED Sept 20 p5). Executive Recycling was the recycler featured in a 2008 60 Minutes expose on e-waste dumping in developing countries.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is requesting comments by January 30, 2012 on its Simplified Entry information collection (which is part of its information collection request for CBP Forms 3461 and 3461 ALT). CBP is proposing to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours as a result of the proposed addition of the Simplified Entry Program.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has previously announced that all licensed Customs brokers must file their Triennial Status Report and $100 fee by February 29, 2012.
At the December 7, 2011 COAC meeting, the COAC Subcommittee on One U.S. Government at the Border (1USG@TB) provided an update on its efforts to identify redundancies with CBP and Participating Government Agency requests for documents/data. The Subcommittee has been focusing its efforts on the PGA member agencies of the Border Interagency Executive Committee1 and has begun a series of phone calls with each of the BIEC’s PGAs in order to discuss issues such as whether there is a need for reliance on paper forms, the viability of leveraging data currently provided to CBP for PGA purposes, how the recognition of an importer’s trusted shipper status by CBP could change the amount/type of data required by a PGA, etc.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that the 2012 annual user fee of $138 for each customs broker permit and national permit held by an individual, partnership, association, or corporation is due by January 20, 2012.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its spreadsheet of ACE ESAR A2.2 (Initial Entry Types) programming issues.