CQ Politics reports that farm bill conferees were still working to reconcile outstanding issues on crop subsidies, after lead negotiators reached a tentative agreement on April 25, 2008 on key elements of a compromise measure. USDA officials were noncommittal on whether President Bush would sign the measure. (CQ Politics, dated 04/29/08, available at http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=1&docID=news-000002713234)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted its report to Congress on the Automated Commercial Environment for the first quarter of fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007 - December 31, 2007). The report provides an update on ACE accomplishments, challenges, fiscal status, and upcoming program milestones.
On April 9, 2008, at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America's Annual Conference, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Basham spoke about the need to address some of CBP's dated Customs broker policies and laws. Highlights of his remarks include:
On April 9, 2008, at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America's Annual Conference, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Basham spoke about the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program. Highlights of his remarks include:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a summary of changes to the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) to its Web site, indicating that Version 1.0 was changed on April 14, 2008 as follows:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued an ACE Reports CSMS message stating that CBP-sponsored telephone training on the Authorized Data Extract (ADE) will begin during the week of April 16, 20081.
At an April 2, 2008 hearing of a House Subcommittee on Homeland Security1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern testified on cargo and border security issues, including Conveyance Security Devices (CSDs).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a PowerPoint presentation providing an overview of the Automated Commercial Environment delivery entitled Cargo Control and Release (CCR).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of April 10, 2008. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, tobacco, certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (CBP's weekly TRQ/TPL commodity report, dated 04/10/08, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a revised version of its informed compliance publication entitled, What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and Electronic Organizers.