International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 16-19 in case they were missed.

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

Customs brokers play a central role in the Energy Department’s plans to require submission of “certifications of admissibility” data elements in the Automated Commercial Environment at time of entry for products subject to energy efficiency standards, said DOE officials speaking at a workshop held Feb. 19 in Washington. A key motive behind the agency’s proposal is that it will prompt brokers to ask their importer clients whether products included in a given entry are subject to energy efficiency standards, forcing the importer to consider whether testing and certification are required, they said.

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

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is drafting a "formal clarification" to spell out exemptions to Lacey Act declaration requirements for plant products entered from Foreign Trade Zones, an APHIS spokeswoman said in an email. There's been confusion over several years as to whether an exemption to the requirements applies to type 06 entries. With the move toward the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency plans to bring type 06 entries "into the fold of the Lacey Act declaration requirement," APHIS's Parul Patel, senior agriculturalist, Imports, Regulations, and Manuals, said at a National Association of Foreign Trade Zones conference on Feb. 9.

CBP posted a policy guidance on recordkeeping requirements in the Automated Commercial Environment (here). "As a matter of policy, CBP will not request an entry filer to produce the data (formerly contained in CBP Forms 7501, 3461, 214 or 7512) that the filer previously transmitted to and was retained by CBP unless CBP has a need for such records," the agency said. If CBP does need such records, the filer can retransmit or provide the data through an ACE report, it said. The guidance applies only to "entries/entry summaries and [Foreign Trade Zone] admissions filed in ACE," said CBP. "Supporting documentation that was used to create the data transmitted to CBP must be maintained by the filer and is not covered by this recordkeeping guidance regardless of whether the entry or FTZ admission was filed in ACE or ACS." CBP also noted that "entry data and information previously presented to and retained by CBP is not subject to a recordkeeping penalty for non-production if such data or information is subsequently requested." The way in which a broker or filer provides copies of the transmissions to the importer of record will be up to those parties, said CBP. The guidance doesn't apply to "the recordkeeping requirements or entry/entry summary production requirements of the United States Court of International Trade," said CBP.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 8-12 in case they were missed.

The Department of Energy will extend the comments deadline to Feb. 29 on a proposal that would require importers of products covered under “an applicable energy conservation standard” to file a “certification of admissibility” for each shipment of such products before their arrival at a U.S. port of entry, it said (here). The proposed rule would require the filing in the Automated Commercial Environment at time of entry (see 1512290020). DOE also granted a request to hold a public meeting to explain the proposal before comments are due, said a prepublication Federal Register notice released by the agency. That meeting will be Feb. 19, 9:30 a.m., at DOE headquarters, 10 days before comments are due, the notice said. The meeting also will be webcast, it said. Trade groups, including the Consumer Technology Association and Plumbing Manufacturers International recently said in a joint filing (here) that they're genuinely "confused" with the proposal because it “does little to explain the specific issue the Department is attempting to resolve with the proposed import data collection.” The groups had asked DOE to extend the comments deadline until 30 days after the meeting date.

CBP named Alice Kipel, previously a lawyer with Steptoe & Johnson, as the executive director or Regulations and Rulings in the Office of International Trade, the agency said in a news release (here). CBP also noted Deborah Augustin's previously announced new role as the executive director of the Automated Commercial Environment Business Office (see 1601130053). Augustin previously was acting executive director.

The Food and Drug Administration’s new Foreign Supplier Verification Program will be implemented over the next five years, with deadlines for importer compliance based on the product being imported. International Trade Today is providing an implementation timeline to help food importers comply with the new program.