China-Origin Textiles and Apparel Subject to Safeguard Quotas are Ineligible for RLF, Ineligible for "Paperless Processing
According to sources at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), China-origin textiles and apparel that are subject to safeguard quotas are ineligible for "paperless processing" 1 and are ineligible for remote location filing (RLF).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
(A Customs broker at one port stated that for him this means that paper documents for safeguard quotas must be presented to CBP, rather than submitted electronically in a paperless or paperless RLF fashion.)
However, CBP sources state that China-origin apparel subject to safeguard quotas is eligible to participate in apparel quota preprocessing (QPP). (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/11/05 news, (Ref:0501115) for BP summary of the extension of QPP through December 31, 2006.)
China 332/432/632pt, 338/339, 347/348, and 352/652 Subject to Safeguard Quotas
China 332/432/632pt. is subject to a safeguard quota for exports during the October 29, 2004 - October 25, 2005 period, while China 338/339, 347/348, and 352/652 are each subject to safeguard quotas for exports during the May 23, 2005 - December 31, 2005 period. As a result, CBP sources state that such merchandise is ineligible for 'paperless processing' and RLF.
(The safeguard quota on China 332/432/632pt has closed. In addition, overshipments of any China safeguard quotas are subject to delayed, staged entry. See ITT's Online Archives or 04/27/05 news, 05042705 for BP summary of CITA's notice on delayed, staged entry for safeguard quota overshipments.)
Safeguard quotas are expected to be implemented soon for China 301, 340/640, 638/639, and 647/648.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/04/05 news, 05050405 for BP summary stating that RLF is only available for Entry Type 01 (formal) and Entry Type 11 (informal), and may not be used for entries of restricted merchandise or merchandise subject to quota/visa (02), or antidumping (AD)/countervailing (CV) (03), etc.
See ITT's Online Archives or 02/15/05 news, 05021505 for BP summary on CBP allowing RLF for Entry Type 01 quota/visa-free textiles requiring a textile declaration.)
1 The term 'paperless' is used by many in CBP and the trade. However, government documents and government sources, as well as trade sources, may not use the term uniformly:
According to one earlier CBP source, on approximately March 7, 2005, CBP began allowing paperless "across the board" for textiles and apparel that became quota-and visa-free for exports on or after January 1, 2005.
This source also added that paper (rather than paperless) would still be needed for AGOA, NAFTA, Chile FTA, Singapore FTA, CBTPA, ATPDEA, and similar preference program tariff preference levels (TPLs) or caps; Chapter 99 worsted wool imports; China safeguard quotas; overshipments of quota textiles and apparel subject to staged entry; and textiles and apparel that originate in non-WTO countries, such as Vietnam or Ukraine, that are subject to quota and/or visa requirements.
One customs broker characterized paperless as 'paperless selectivity,' and noted that before March 7, 2005, only silk textiles and apparel were eligible for paperless selectivity.
Question 11 of CBP's FAQ on WTO quota elimination stated that, in general, paperless entry summary was available for goods that are quota-free for exports on or after January 1, 2005 that are not subject to TPLs, antidumping or countervailing duties, or other restrictions that would preclude a paperless summary. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/07/04 news, 04070710 for BP summary.)