ACE DELAY
The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Rail and
Sea Manifest (M1) capabilities scheduled for deployment in fall 2008 will be
delayed by a projected six to eight months due to problems discovered during
testing the new software. Another contributing factor has been the addition of
new requirements to the project. As a result of the MI schedule slip, an
additional four to six month delay is projected for the early 2009 deployment of
initial ACE entry summary capabilities. CBP is in the process of determining
the impact these delays will have on the entire ACE schedule. CBP senior
management has ordered an independent review of ACE to ensure that everything
possible is being done to continue the successful deployment of new
capabilities. In the near future a new ACE Release schedule will be published.
This schedule will show that the Cargo Release portion of ACE has been moved to
a higher priority as it is critical to many of the participating government
agencies CBP is working with as part of the International Trade Data System (ITDS)
process.
ACE
UPDATES
•
A phase 2 enhancement of
ad hoc ACE Reports capabilities, scheduled to deploy on
September 6, 2008, will allow the
creation of new reports and account holder modification of reports.
•
The September 2008 Trade
Support Network (TSN) meeting will focus on Participating Government Agency (PGA) plans for
ACE integration. Contact Linda King, our
TSN participant, with questions.
•
The ACE Rail and Sea
Manifest release, scheduled for a Fall 2008 deployment, will be delayed a
projected 6-8 months due to new requirements and software problems. A 4-6 month
delay is also projected for the early 2009 release of A2 Entry Summary
Capabilities.
AIRCRAFT PARTS
The State
Department has just published a Final Rule on the export license requirements
for aircraft parts. For parts not containing Significant Military Equipment (SME),
a Commodity Jurisdiction (CJ) determination will not be required. The
amendments to Part 121 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
are effective August 14, 2008. 73 Fed. Reg.
47523 (August 4, 2008).
BROKER EXAM
Applications for the October Customs Broker Exam are due September 5, 2008.
CLASSIFICATION HELP
The firm has developed a program to assist companies in classifying their goods.
The program will allow companies to classify many different commodities by
answering a series of short questions. For example, we have successfully
consolidated up to 8 or 10 pages of the tariff into 7 or 8 questions. Please
contact Marshall Miller for further information.
CONSUMER SAFETY ACT
The Consumer Product Safety
Improvement Act of 2008 was enacted into law on August 14, 2008. The Act
overhauls U.S. product safety standards and directs the Consumer Product Safety
Commission to work with Customs to stop imports of merchandise that do not meet
the new product standards. Pub. L. 110-314, 122 Stat.
3016.
CONTAINER SEALS
Customs
has issued a notice requiring freight container seals to meet the ISO/PAS 17712
standard, effective October 15, 2008. Containers not readily securable by a
seal, or that cannot possibly accommodate an ISO/PAS 17712 seal, can be
exempted. 73 Fed. Reg.
46029 (Aug. 7, 2008).
C-TPAT GUIDANCE
The firm has formulated a C-TPAT Action Plan
and documents that make up an essential core process for implementing a C-TPAT program for
any firm.
C-TPAT FOR EXPORTERS
The
C-TPAT program director recently announced that Customs plans a small test of
C-TPAT for exporters in late 2008.
C-TPAT
OCEAN ENTRIES
Customs
has published a
notice reminding ocean importers that to receive their full C-TPAT benefits
of reduced cargo exams, entry must be filed at least 24 hours prior to vessel
arrival.
doha collapses—again
The
seven-year saga of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks may
have finally reached an end on July 29, when a WTO ministerial meeting
collapsed. Countries have already suggested re-starting the talks, but the U.S.
has expressed reluctance to resume talks until prospects for negotiating a
successful outcome have increased.
EXPORT C-TPAT
Customs
has initiated a pilot C-TPAT certified exporter program. The pilot program will
develop minimum security requirements for exporters. It is only available to C-TPAT
participants, and requires the completion of an export security profile and a
Customs review. No site validations are included in the pilot. The firm’s
structured and documented C-TPAT program is also appropriate for exporters.
Contact Sean Murray or Mike Utchell with questions.
EXPORTS - RPS PROGRAMS
The Firm has just completed a very extensive review of the majority
of the major Restricted Party Screening (RPS) programs. While the programs
are similar, there are many technical differences that should be carefully analyzed
prior to purchasing an RPS program. We urge all clients that do not have an automated
RPS system to seriously consider budgeting for this required software in order
to comply with US. export laws. A detailed memo and assistance in determining
which RPS program is best for you can be provided for a fee. Please
contact Mark Teerink for details.
exports to affiliates
The Bureau of Industry and
Security (BIS) has indicated that it expects to adopt a rule by the end of 2008
that will permit U.S. companies to export certain controlled high-tech items to
approved foreign affiliates without licenses, as otherwise would be required. A
draft proposal is being vetted by other agencies, and will be published for
comment.
FIRST SALE REPORTING
Clients
who utilize the “first sale rule” to declare transaction value may soon have an
additional entry obligation. Customs has indicted that beginning as early as
August 20, 2008, importers utilizing the first sale must put an "F" in a new
field to be created by Customs in the ABI. The field will be entry-line
specific. Clients who do not declare a first sale value would leave the new
field blank. For further information, contact Tom Lobred or Sean Murray.
FTA/TPP
The Firm has prepared a comprehensive package for a $2,000 fee that provides complete resource and
basic guidance documents for clients to implement a comprehensive compliance program for all existing
Free Trade Agreement and Trade Preference Programs. A detailed explanatory
memorandum is available on our website. Contact Scott Taylor in our office for more information.
FTAs
• With two minor technical
corrections, Customs has adopted as a Final Rule its previously-issued Interim
Rule on the implementation of preferential tariff treatment and other
Customs-related provisions for the FTA with Bahrain. The Final Rule is
effective August 22, 2008. 73 Fed. Reg.
42679 (July 23, 2008).
• Customs has adopted
a Final Rule, effective Sept. 4, 2008, that incorporates several Interim Rules
and amendments to preferential tariff treatment and other Customs-related
provisions under the FTA with Morocco. 73 Fed. Reg.
45351 (Aug. 5, 2008)
GSP
EXTENSION
On July
29, the House of Representatives passed
H.R. 6560, a bill related to trade preferences, with three primary
components: (1) extending the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program
for one year through December 2009; (2) establishing a “2 for 1” textile and
apparel program for the Dominican Republic; and (3) altering the African Growth
and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to help lesser developed participating countries take
advantage of textile and apparel benefits. The bill has not yet been taken up
by the Senate.
HMF
PROCEDURES
Customs has issued a
Proposed Rule that would amend 19 C.F.R. Part 24 to allow electronic payments of
the quarterly Harbor Maintenance Fees (HMF) and clarify the regulations to state
that each HMF quarterly payment (paper or electronic) must be accompanied by an
HMF Quarterly Summary Report (CBPF 349). Comments are due by October 6, 2008.
73 Fed. Reg.
45364 (Aug. 5, 2008).
HTSUS AND EAR ASSISTANCE
Miller & Company has developed several types of automated check-sheets that greatly simplify
the classification of goods in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The check-sheets are designed so that the
user is only required to have a very basic understanding of either the HTSUS or EAR and
simply answers "yes" or "no" to a series of questions. The check-sheets walk the user
through the document based on the user's answers, which greatly simplifies the classification
process. Additionally, once the user has answered sufficient questions to arrive at a
classification decision, the classification is provided to the user and the user is
directed to stop answering any further questions. The document serves as an excellent
tool both to assist in classifying goods in the HTSUS or EAR and for documenting why
goods are classified as they are. Please contact Marshall Miller or Michael Utchell
for further information.
ILLEGAL EXPORTS
A former ground services
coordinator at O’Hare International Airport has been
sentenced to two years in prison for his participation in illegal smuggling
out of the country of weapons scopes, military night vision goggles, and a
cellular phone jammer.
IMPORT/EXPORT ANALYSIS
If your company has not
already requested 2007 import and/or export government data, now is a good time
to consider undertaking a comprehensive review. Requestable data is
significantly more complete than ACE reports. The firm has developed custom
programs for organizing, charting, and graphing the data into activity reports.
Contact Marshall Miller or Brenda Zeller for details.
IPR
STATS
Customs has released mid-year
statistics for intellectual property seizures. China accounted for 85% of
the seized property, while footwear was the most commonly seized product,
accounting for 36% of the total value of seizures.
MISC. TARIFF BILL
The
Senate Finance Committee minority trade counsel stated on August 1 that the
Senate will not consider a Miscellaneous Tariff Bill in 2008, putting temporary
duty suspension bills and other miscellaneous trade legislation on hold. Some
of the trade legislation could still be included in other bills.
NEW
ORIGIN RULES?
Customs
has again proposed replacing the current “substantial transformation” standard
for origin marking purposes with the tariff shift-based NAFTA country-of-origin
(COO) marking rules in 19 C.F.R. Part 102. Customs is also proposing to make
them applicable to COO determinations under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that
currently use the “substantial transformation” standard (e.g., U.S.-Bahrain and
U.S.-Morocco FTAs). The Proposed Rule also includes a few product-specific
changes to the Part 102 rules for greeting cards, pipe fittings, etc. Comments
are due by September 23, 2008. Clients should review the Proposed Rule for
impact and file comments if they oppose the change or believe the rules
applicable to their products should be changed. Contact Sean Murray with
questions or for assistance in filing comments. 73 Fed. Reg.
43385 (July 25, 2008).
POSTERS
We encourage clients to forward to us business posters that are already framed or
that we can frame for the walls in our offices. It is a very good "connection" for
everyone in our offices to have client posters as our art work.
REVISED CENSUS FORM
A revised “Request for
Change in Census Parameters”
form is now available on the Customs website. This form may be used to
request an update or correction to the commodity parameters set by Census to
stop warning messages that recur.
TRADE DEFICIT
According
to U.S. Census Bureau
trade data, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed again in June, surprising some
analysts. U.S. exports—spurred by a weak U.S. dollar—continued to expand faster
than the increase in imports.
UNIFORM COO RULES?
Customs has proposed making
the current NAFTA country-of-origin (COO) marking rules of origin, including
their tariff-shift and other conditions, applicable to all normal Customs
determinations and to COO determinations under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) that
currently use the “substantial transformation” standard (U.S.-Bahrain and
U.S.-Morocco FTAs). The rules would not apply where different specific rules of
origin are established—e.g., most FTAs. Comments are due by September 23,
2008. 73 Fed. Reg.
43385 (July 25, 2008)
UNTRUSTED TRAVELERS
• Several persons
registered as “trusted travelers” with Customs have been
arrested for illegally attempting to smuggle narcotics into the United
States. C-TPAT participants should take note that as a C-TPAT participant
subject to a reduced number of exams, their cargo is a potential target for
persons seeking to smuggle things into the U.S.
• Notwithstanding
these continuing issues with expedited entry programs, Customs has announced the
expansion of its pilot International Registered Traveler program (“Global
Entry”) to four more airports. The program allows expedited clearance of
“pre-approved, low-risk travelers” into the United States. 73 Fed. Reg.
47204 (Aug. 13, 2008).
WPM STAndards
The
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Secretariat has posted
draft revised standards on wood packing material (WPM). The draft revised
ISPM 15 standards include the new requirement that WPM would have to be debarked
and encourage the use of fumigants other than ozone-depleting methyl bromide.
Comments on the draft are due by September 30. U.S. Customs has issued a
notice reminding importers of their obligation to comply with the WPM
standards. To date, thirty-seven countries have implemented ISPM 15 or similar
measures.
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