International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 17-21 in case they were missed.

The Treasury Department published an updated 2017 regulatory agenda for CBP (here) that mentions several new rulemakings that weren't included in the last update (see 1611180003). The agenda includes a newly mentioned proposal for updates and modifications to the (a)(1)(A) list of records required for the entry of merchandise (here). That list is included within the appendix to 19 CFR Part 163 (here). CBP seeks to publish the proposal in October, according to the agenda.

An amendment (here) adopted into House Appropriations Committee-approved fiscal year 2018 funding legislation urges CBP to add ACE questions to track imported products certified as organic under Agriculture Department standards. The committee posted House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee the manager’s amendment of Chairman John Carter, R-Texas, on July 20, after the full committee approved the amendment and the legislation July 18 (see 1707190034). Certified organic imports aren’t currently tracked, so the quantity and origin of imported organics aren’t known, the amendment says. Carter’s language also directs CBP to brief House appropriators within 120 days of enactment on a plan to develop an importer risk assessment in compliance with Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act Section 115.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

The House Appropriations Committee on July 18 approved fiscal year 2018 funding legislation for the Department of Homeland Security, which encourages CBP to run a pilot for the Fish and Wildlife Service ACE message set “as soon as is feasible,” according to the bill’s committee report (here). “Providing a centralized online access point to connect CBP, the trade community, and partner government agencies will enhance government data collection for international trade transactions while expediting cargo processing and protecting against prohibited shipments,” the report says. The Fish and Wildlife Service suspended its ACE import and export pilots earlier this year following complaints from the trade (see 1701190011)

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

CBP on July 13 posted its partner government agency (PGA) message set implementation guide (here) for the National Marine Fisheries Service's Seafood Import Monitoring Program, it said in a CSMS message (here). The final rule, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2018, requires the filing of additional data elements, and also sets record-keeping and permit requirements, for certain species of seafood (see 1612080014). CBP says it will implement the new PGA message set requirements in the ACE certification environment for testing "no later than the first week of October 2017." The agency will deploy the PGA message set in the ACE production environment in November 2017 "for restricted filer/piloting/testing," followed by full deployment when filing is required in January 2018, it said.

The Federal Communications Commission will end its requirement to file FCC Form 740 import declarations for radio frequency (RF) devices with CBP at the time of entry, it said in a July 13 press release (here). Elimination of the filing requirement, as expected (see 1706280065), will take effect upon publication of the FCC's rule in the Federal Register. The FCC has waived the requirement to file Form 740 since July 2016 to facilitate the transition to electronic filing in ACE (see 1510200035).

Agricultural trade could have a greater chance than other sectors in North America of being reshaped through NAFTA renegotiations, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) lobbyist Jon Kent said July 11 during a webinar. “That’s, I think, where we’re most concerned about maintaining the status quo, and there’s a reasonable amount of contention between all three countries” party to the agreement, Kent said. Promoting free data flows will be another major issue of renegotiation, and the high-tech industry is likely to weigh in “very affirmatively” on the topic, but the U.S. will seek to adjust several parts of the agreement merely “around the edges,” he said.