CBP published the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties. For the quarter that began July 1 and ends Sept. 30, the interest rates for overpayments decrease (see 1904020037) to 4 percent for corporations and 5 percent for non-corporations, and the interest rate for underpayments will be 5 percent for both corporations and non-corporations. These interest rates are subject to change for the calendar quarter beginning Oct. 1 and ending Dec. 31, CBP said.

The slew of trade remedies now faced by U.S. importers continues to push up the number of bond insufficiency notices being issued by CBP, said Colleen Clarke, vice president-business development at Roanoke Insurance Group, during a discussion at the American Association of Exporters and Importers Annual Conference in Washington June 27. "From 2006 through 2017, there were about 2,000 insufficiencies on average, annually," she said. "In 2018, there were 5,900. In 2019, just through June, six months, there's been 6,200." If that trend continues, there may be some 12,000 insufficiency notices for the year, which would be a sixfold increase from before the trade remedies, she said. This is all also before any additional tariffs take effect, said Lenny Feldman, a lawyer with Sandler Travis. Currently, "we could be looking at about 5 percent of the bonds could need increases, but if you do the math with List 4 and how robust that could be, we could be at almost 50 percent bond insufficiencies," he said.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website July 1, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADD CVD Search page:

CBP will require ACE for reporting all in-bond exports, arrivals and diversions starting July 29, the agency said in a CSMS message. "CBP will no longer accept paper copies of the CBPF 7512 to perform arrival and export functionality," though air shipments will still be exempt from the requirements, it said. "An ACE edit will issue a rejection if these actions are not performed," CBP said. "At this time, no date is set for implementation of the provision requiring the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule number requirement for Immediate Transportation movements." The Automated In-Bond Processing Business Process document is the "official publication which provides both CBP and the trade community with guidance, requirements and responsibilities when processing in-bond cargo," the agency said.

The U.S. and Tunisia signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement meant to help prevent and detect customs violations, CBP said in a July 2 news release. Such agreements "allow for the exchange of information that is vital to our national and economic security,” Deputy CBP Commissioner Robert Perez said. "We value our partnership with Tunisia in pursuing our mutual goals of stronger law enforcement and a more resilient and secure supply chain. These agreements form sound legal frameworks on a wide range of issues, including securing our borders against terrorists and combatting drug traffickers. This collaboration and cooperation will enable us -- and generations after us -- to work more effectively to prevent, detect, and investigate customs offenses.” The U.S. now has CMAAs with 81 countries, it said.

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated July 2. The most recent ruling is dated June 27. The following headquarters rulings not involving carriers were "modified" on July 1 or 2, according to CBP:

CBP agreed with Steel of West Virginia that the agency previously misclassified steel special profiles in a subheading not subject to the Section 232 tariffs on steel, the agency said in a notice. The company petitioned CBP as a domestic interested party to revise its classification ruling (see 1904020048). CBP received 14 comments on the petition.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website June 28, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at CBP's ADD CVD Search page:

The Food and Drug Administration wasn't getting ACE entries due to "connection problems between FDA and CBP’s systems," CBP said in a June 29 CSMS message. Filers that already submitted Prior Notice through ACE and received confirmation don't need to take further action, CBP said. Filers that haven't received confirmation or have not yet submitted Prior Notice can "wait until the issue is resolved, unless this will cause the prior notice submission to be untimely," CBP said. "Filers who choose this option should understand that they remain responsible under section 801(m) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and under the prior notice final rule for filing timely prior notice." Filers can also provide CBP officers "with evidence to show prior notice was submitted via ACE (e.g. signed copy of the ABI/ACE transmission)" or provide a confirmation page from the Prior Notice System Interface that shows submission.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​