CBP reminded importers of the upcoming "utilization expiration date" that will determine eligibility for a two-year grace period for solar cells and modules from Southeast Asia that the Commerce Department found are circumventing antidumping and countervailing duties on solar cells from China (see 2308180044).
CBP created Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2402 Feb. 2, containing 3,519 ABI records and 519 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. The update includes several partner government agency Harmonized Tariff Schedule flag updates, as well as adjustments required by the verification of the 2024 HTS.
The Chinese government is going out of its way to evade forced labor laws by making supply chains less transparent, including by limiting access to corporate information online with "heavy" censorship, Yalkun Uluyol, a researcher at the Forced Labour Lab at Sheffield Hallam University, said at a U.K. Parliament hearing Feb. 6.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The National Marine Fisheries Service ACE Implementation Guide has been updated to prohibit the use of "aggregated harvest reports for Northern Red Snapper as directed" by the National Defense Authorization Act of FY 2023, CBP said in a Feb. 6 CSMS message.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The Federal Maritime Commission's Feb. 7 informal meeting on the Red Sea shipping-related disruptions will feature opening and closing remarks by the chairman and commissioners, as well as panels featuring representatives from ports, carriers and the shipping industry, according to the schedule released Feb. 2. The hearing was announced in January in response to attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi rebels in Yemen (see 2401120057).
The Border Trade Alliance encouraged Republican governors to work with the federal government to "pursue a border that is defined by security and efficient trade." The BTA, in a letter to Republican Governors Association Chairman Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee that was also sent to 24 other Republican governors, said it is specifically worried about "a federal-state standoff that risks disruptions to legitimate cross-border trade and travel."
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP ruled that the Caper Cart, a "'smart' shopping cart" imported by Instacart, is classified as a vehicle under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 8716. The agency said in a customs ruling released Jan. 12 that the cart is "essentially" a manually propelled vehicle that transports goods and functions as a cart, regardless of whether the electronic payment features and point-of-sale system are on the cart.