Monty Tayloe

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted the October 2008 customs broker license exam answer key.

CBP has posted a memorandum regarding the re-allocation of Mexico's portion of the recently increased fiscal year 2008 tariff rate quota for refined sugar to the global refined sugar TRQ. The re-allocation will be administered on a first-come, first-served basis, in five separate openings, beginning with an allocation of 28,278,000 kg. The first opening was on October 30, 2008. The remaining allocations will consist of 10,000,000 kg each, which CBP will announce in subsequent notices. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/31/08 news, 08103110, for most recent BP summary on the re-allocation.) (QBT-08-536, dated 10/30/08, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/qbts/qbt2008/qbt_08_536.ctt/qbt_08_536.pdf)

The Food and Drug Administration has issued its final rule, effective 180 days after its November 7, 2008 publication in the Federal Register, on the submission to FDA of prior notice of food, including animal feed, which is imported or offered for import into the U.S.

CBP has posted the following presentations for the 2008 Trade Symposium, which will be held on October 29-31, 2008 in Washington, DC:

DUBAI -- The five Regional Internet Registries (RIR) that allocate IPv4 addresses should “ask ourselves what will we do when there are no addresses,” Axel Pawlik, CEO of RIPE NCC, the operative part of the Reseaux IP Europeens (RIPE), told a Tuesday RIPE meeting. Self-regulatory body RIPE allocates IP addresses in Europe and parts of Asia. Its counterparts are ARIN for North America, LacNIC for Latenamerica, APNic for Asia, and AfriNIC for Africa.

DoJ will make “minor modifications” to its settlement with the National Association of Realtors over discrimination against Internet-based brokers (WID May 28 p2), the department said Thursday, responding to nine comments filed during a 60-day review window. The Realtors group allowed members to withhold clients’ listings from multiple listing services available to “virtual office websites,” which can offer more targeted services and lower prices than traditional full-service brokers, DoJ said. The association also blocked compensation to “referral VOWs” - those that provide online listing and search for properties but refer searchers to other brokers for home visits. DoJ allowed the association to keep technology-neutral restrictions in the settlement, such as requiring VOWs to have a “lawful consumer-broker relationship” with a user before displaying MLS data. ZipReality, a VOW broker active in 35 markets, asked DoJ to ensure that MLS operators don’t add “inappropriate and unreasonable” fees or restrictions on VOWs. DoJ responded that it hasn’t been shy about suing MLS operators over antitrust violations. The department agreed with Prudential Real Estate Affiliates that the prohibition in the new Realtors policy on VOW customer copying of listings data -- a ban intended to stop collection and resale of MLS data -- also would prohibit saving data to an “electronic property portfolio” or forwarding listings to others shopping for real estate. The association agreed to an allowance for such behavior in a revised policy, DoJ said. It also rewrote a section that upset Prudential by not expressly authorizing VOWs to provide property addresses by other means when sellers ask their brokers to keep the addresses off the Internet, DoJ said. The department confirmed for Prudential that other sections flatly bar MLS operators from withholding non-confidential data from VOWs if sellers ask only that the listings not be posted online. Non-VOW Web sites also would be barred under Internet-wide restrictions by sellers, the department said. DoJ confirmed that the settlement would be violated if an MLS charged an affiliated VOW partner -- which operators several VOWs -- separate download fees for every VOW it operates. The department declined to apply more stringent requirements for the association to enforce its revised policy on affiliated MLS providers, as requested by Prudential. DoJ said it assumes that the association would “find out through multiple channels” if affiliated MLS providers violate the policy and that the association is obligated to investigate “well- founded” claims of MLS bias. The agency agreed with Prudential that an association policy of “verifying compliance” by VOWs can’t be used to “harass” them or seek access to their general computer systems. The revised settlement requires the approval of a U.S. district judge in Chicago.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission will hold a conference call on October 20, 2008 to discuss its proposed rule on labeling requirements for toy and game advertising. The call is intended to inform the public about the details of the proposed rule and give interested stakeholders the opportunity to raise questions and share concerns about the rulemaking. (CPSC Public Calendar, dated 10/15/08, available at http://www.cpsc.gov/calendar.html.)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a general notice containing guidelines for the assessment of claims for liquidated damages and the mitigation of those claims, when participants fail to pay or untimely pay estimated duties and fees under the NCAP test¹ for the Periodic Monthly Statement² payment process.

A number of documents have been posted to the International Trade Data System¹ Web site, including one from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that discusses the functionality that will be available to certain ITDS Participating Government Agencies in future Automated Commercial Environment releases².

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message reminding the trade that ABI (Automated Broker Interface) trade volunteers interested in participating in the test for Entry Summary, Account, and Revenue (ESAR) A2.2, which includes filing informal and formal entries (type 01 and 11) via ACE, must submit their comments and indication of interest by October 27, 2008.