CBP clarified its timing requirements for customs duty deferrals (see 2004200024) in April during an April 20 conference call with industry, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an emailed update. The April 20 filing deadline “is only relevant to the statements that are being processed for payments” on April 21, CBP said, according to the NCBFAA. “For April 30, you have until April 29, at 11:59 P.M., to effect changes on that statement.” Meanwhile, CBP also posted a list of frequently asked questions. Among other things, CBP said drawback claims against estimated duties that are being deferred shouldn't be filed. “CBP is advising that filers delaying duty payment during the 90 day postponement period due to financial hardships, should not file drawback claims until payments have been properly made on the import entry(s),” it said.

Governments should suspend certain licensing requirements, expedite customs clearances and provide relief from customs penalties during the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Customs Organization's Private Sector Consultative Group said in comments released April 16. Such measures should be adopted by countries across the globe to provide relief for the struggling trade community and to help trade continue to flow, the PSCG said.

President Donald Trump authorized the temporary extension of “deadlines, for importers suffering significant financial hardship because of COVID-19,” in an April 19 Executive Order. “To qualify for this temporary postponement, an importer must demonstrate a significant financial hardship,” CBP said in a prepublication version of a temporary final rule. While the CBP notice limits the deferrals to March and April payments, the EO gives the Treasury secretary broad authority to postpone duty collections during the COVID-19 national emergency.

CBP should develop a new electronic platform incorporating its e-recordation system to improve intellectual property rights enforcement through better targeting and communication, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee said in recommendations adopted at the April 15 COAC meeting.

CBP posted multiple documents ahead of the April 15 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America seeks clarification from CBP on a number of issues related to implementation of a ban on exports of personal protective equipment (PPE) recently announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (see 2004080018), according to an NCBFAA letter dated April 10. The letter includes questions on the scope of the FEMA notice, including the application of the ban to bonded transactions like warehouse withdrawals and goods in foreign-trade zones, as well as procedures for handling exports of covered PPE, such as processes for requesting FEMA authorization and contact information for FEMA. The letter also requests information on forwarder responsibilities under the policy and forwarder liability for detained PPE shipments. At least one of the questions, on whether the ban applies to exports to Canada and Mexico, was answered by an internal CBP memo dated April 9 that said exports to the two countries are exempt (see 2004090069).

The United Arab Emirates introduced several measures to ease the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on trade and investment, according to an April 7 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The measures include a refund of 1% of the customary 5% customs duty charged to imported goods for sale in the UAE; this applies to imports between March 15 and June 30, 2020. The UAE also introduced an exemption from the regular (starting March 24) the requirement to pay a $13,600 cash deposit on customs brokering activities, the report said, and fees imposed for submitting customs documents will be reduced by 90%. A hold has been put on customs audits, and social distancing measures have been introduced in free-trade zone application processing.

Recently announced restrictions on exports of personal protective equipment (PPE) only apply to commercial shipments, and exports to Canada and Mexico are exempt from the policy, said CBP in a memo dated April 9. The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America included the memo in an April 9 email on COVID-19 developments.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 30 - April 3 in case you missed them.

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America plans to combine its annual conference and the government affairs conference that already had been set for Sept. 13-15, in Washington, D.C., the NCBFAA said in an email. The NCBFAA annual conference was previously planned for this month in Las Vegas. The Western Cargo Conference was also rescheduled, according to its website. That event is now planned for Oct. 1-4 in Coronado, California.