COAC Recommends Improved AD/CVD Outreach From CBP, Including Info on Scope Rulings
CBP should improve its communications and outreach related to antidumping and countervailing duties, said the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) in several recommendations approved at its Feb. 11 meeting in San Francisco (here). The agency should use Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) to keep the trade community apprised of new investigations and scope rulings, said COAC, and should develop outreach for industry sectors beyond importers and domestic industry. CBP should also make improvements to AD/CVD information it has on its website, and should eventually work toward a single multi-agency site dedicated to AD/CVD, said COAC.
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According to a CBP report on the COAC AD/CVD working group (here), “much of the discussion” over the past COAC term “has centered on how to increase the availability of information for importers and downstream buyers to increase compliance with AD/CVD import components.” CBP has already used some of the working group’s suggestions to improve AD/CVD information available on its website, said the agency.
At its recent meeting, COAC recommended CBP send CSMS messages whenever a petition for an AD/CVD investigation is filed with the Commerce Department, as well as when the investigation is initiated. CBP should also summarize every scope ruling in a CSMS message “in the most readable/understandable way possible,” said COAC. CBP should “undertake a dedicated communications initiative” with a focus on improving its website, including more prominently highlighting AD/CVD information, communicating “fraud alerts,” and continued development of FAQs. The ultimate goal should be a single website combining AD/CVD info from all agencies involved, which “could provide significant long-term value for all stakeholders,” said COAC