Imported jewelry that is held on consignment by retailers but never sold is eligible for substitution unused merchandise drawback, CBP said in a ruling released Oct. 3. Though customers of the retailers may try on the jewelry, that doesn’t constitute use of the jewelry for its intended purpose, and the importer retains title to the unsold jewelry unless sold, CBP said in ruling HQ H292054.
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced two separate settlement agreements this week, fining a Switzerland- and a Monaco-based wealth management company for violating U.S. sanctions. OFAC said both companies committed violations due to “deficiencies” in their sanctions compliance practices.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) will take time to implement, and the Federal Maritime Commission still needs companies to bring cases so it can effectively regulate ocean traffic, FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said Sept. 19 during a panel discussion at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual Government Affairs Conference.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) will take time to implement, and the Federal Maritime Commission still needs companies to bring cases so it can effectively regulate ocean traffic, FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said Sept. 19 during a panel discussion at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America annual Government Affairs Conference.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service hopes to begin implementation of its seventh and penultimate phase of Lacey Act declaration requirements toward the end of 2023, the agency’s Erin Otto said Sept. 19, speaking at a National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference in Washington. Otto said APHIS hopes to complete phase seven implementation in the summer of 2024, at which point the agency will pivot to the final phase eight.
House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who schedules when legislation gets a vote in that chamber, said no one has brought up the Customs Business Fairness Act to him, and while he is aware it was part of a 2021 COVID-19 relief package, he hasn't heard anything about it lately.
CBP’s final rule creating a continuing education requirement for customs brokers is in the “stretch run,” with the regulations written and in the initial stages of review with CBP’s Office of Trade, said John Leonard, deputy assistant commissioner-trade at CBP, in remarks Sept. 19. The final rule only has to be signed by the secretary of homeland security, which will make for a quicker process than for CBP rules that also have to be signed by the treasury secretary, said Leonard, speaking at a National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference.
The Part 111 broker regulations in the works for five years are about to be released (see 2209140051) and National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Customs Committee Chair Mary Jo Muoio that said there are aspects of the rules that the group welcomes, and others that it dreads.
After 20 years of pushing, customs brokers got a carve-out to bankruptcy law so that the money importers give them to send to CBP to pay tariffs are not subject to clawback after a bankruptcy filing. The clawback provisions are there so that company insiders or other parties don't get favorable payments just before a filing. But that carve-out expired at the end of last year, and now brokers are trying to get it back. National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America members are making the Customs Business Fairness Act their No. 1 ask during lobbying on the Hill on Sept. 19.