Customs Duty

NARUC's Telecom Committee unanimously cleared an amended Lifeline resolution urging the FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. ensure the national verifier accesses state databases required to automatically check users are eligible. USAC is responding to concerns and committed to making the NV work, South Dakota Commissioner Chris Nelson told us after the vote.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is wrong to propose lowering the de minimis threshold on shipments from Canada and Mexico, said the Internet Association. A lower threshold would mean more goods crossing borders could be subject to duties. "A consistent, high de minimis threshold benefits the entire American e-commerce system, including thousands of small businesses that use the internet to export and import," said IA Director-Trade Policy Jordan Haas Wednesday. USTR’s proposed provision in legislation implementing the new North American Free Trade Agreement “would force small businesses to navigate a complicated, confusing net of customs rules,” said Haas. Businesses complained that even the concessions won in the new NAFTA are complicated and confusing, because Mexico and Canada have different de minimis levels for sales taxes and for customs duties.

Expect Senate and House Commerce Committee hearings on wireless carrier location tracking practices that stirred national security concerns, lawmakers told us. Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., wants briefings from carriers on recent reports companies sold customer location tracking data allegedly accessed by bounty hunters (see 1901110042). “I want to hear personally not only from folks on the communications side but also continue hearing if there are any national security implications,” Warner told us.

The Office of the U.S Trade Representative issued its first list of product exclusions from the 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, granting full or partial exemptions for nearly two dozen 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheadings, said a notice posted Friday at the agency’s website. The exclusions apply retroactively to July 6, the date the first tranche of tariffs took effect, and will remain in effect until one year after the USTR’s notice is published in the Federal Register.

Microsoft told FCC Chief Technology Officer Eric Burger the FCC shouldn’t provide a safe harbor for blocking legitimate voice calls as part of its attack on robocalls. “The FCC has never before authorized a voice provider to block a legitimate voice call without first obtaining customer consent to do so,” Microsoft said in a filing posted Monday in docket 17-59. “The voice network was developed and operated based on a carrier having a duty to deliver the signal, without regard for the contents of that signal or the identity of the sender. Reliable operation of the network has always been of paramount importance.”

The FCC unanimously adopted an order to offer rural telcos more USF support in exchange for deploying more 25/3 Mbps broadband, as some expected (see 1812100052). The main elements appear largely the same as in a draft (see 1811210032). "Many more rural Americans will have access to high-speed broadband service," said Chairman Ajit Pai. A key lawmaker and RLEC groups praised the rate-of-return USF item -- which includes a reconsideration order and Further NPRM -- approved at commissioners' meeting Wednesday.

Parties backed an FCC effort to improve 911 calling and location accuracy, noting technical challenges. There was broad support for proposals to implement Kari's Law requirements requiring 911 direct dialing from multiline telephone systems (MLTS) in larger enterprises. Industry resisted some potential regulations, particularly on a Ray Baum's Act (see 1812110052) mandate to consider requiring "dispatchable location" information is conveyed with calls to responders. Telecom and VoIP providers, equipment makers, public safety entities, enterprise groups and others filed over 30 comments in docket 18-261 through Tuesday on an NPRM (see 1809260047).

Any U.S.-Japan trade agreement should “prohibit” customs duties on digital products and electronic transmissions, commented the Information Technology Industry Council in docket USTR-2018-0034. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative sought feedback to help shape the Trump administration’s negotiating posture (see 1811270002). It’s “tempting” for governments to consider levying duties or other “blanket fees” on digital goods and services, said ITI. Banning those “unnecessary” costs will eliminate burdens on digital trade and “serve as a vital model for future U.S. trade agreements" everywhere, it said. ITI wants the USTR to use negotiations with Japan to promote joint "cybersecurity cooperation efforts,” and “both countries should affirm that risk-based, consensus-driven, and interoperable cybersecurity approaches are more effective at combatting digital threats than prescriptive, mandatory, and sometimes conflicting regulatory regimes that are emerging" worldwide. ITI also urges the USTR to seek commitments from Japan to allow into the country for testing and demo purposes tech devices that don't yet have regulatory authorization, it said. "Currently, Japan does not allow for the importation of any devices that do not hold regulatory authorizations for these purposes. Adoption of measures similar to FCC provisions allowing imports of products for testing or demonstration will give U.S. firms equal opportunities in Japan’s market."

Facilities-based providers with residential voice service that isn't line-powered must offer subscribers an option for 24 hours of standby backup power for customers premises equipment starting Feb. 13, said an FCC Public Safety Bureau notice in docket 14-174 and Wednesday's Daily Digest. It's pursuant to a 2015 order that has required 8 hours of backup power. The public notice reminded the fixed service providers of duties to disclose service limitations and backup power information to consumers at point of sale and annually.

Windstream knocked the FCC's recent Connect America Fund Phase II auction to allocate $1.49 billion in cumulative broadband-oriented subsidies over 10 years for fixed services in legacy high-cost ILEC areas (see 1808280035). CEO Tony Thomas said $122 million in support for satellite service was effectively wasted. He doubted two wireless ISPs receiving $501 million total can meet buildout requirements. WISP officials disputed that view; the FCC vowed to enforce buildout duties.