CBP posted new CATAIR (Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements) as part of the entry summary validations recently added to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the agency said in CSMS message. The CATAIR information (here) relates to a new validation capability meant to make sure an importer's estimated duty conforms to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule when filing entries in ACE (see Ref:13111418).
CBP released its Nov. 20 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 46). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent Court of International Trade decisions and general notices.
CBP records related to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are now available on a government website used to hold FOIA data for a number of agencies. The searchable database (here) will have information on CBP FOIA requests, appeals and records as of Oct. 1.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Nov. 18, 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 addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Nov. 18. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc.
CBP seized two shipments of toys from China at the Port of New York/Newark due to violations of Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations, said CBP in a press release. CPSC alerted CBP that some of the toys included excessive amounts of lead, and others represented potential choking hazards, in violation of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, said CBP. CBP seized a total of 2,308 toys with an approximate total domestic value of $11,313, it said..
CBP's Port of Seattle issued a Trade Information Notice soliciting applications to operate a Centralized Examination Station (CES) for the Seattle and Tacoma ports. The solicitation period began Nov. 18 and expires Jan. 16. Public comments are also invited.
CBP reminded the trade industry to provide information on how imported goods meet free trade agreement (FTA) eligibility requirements when a FTA certification of origin is issued. "When a producer, exporter or importer issues an FTA certification of origin (a.k.a. Implementation Instructions, Attachment A), the “Preference Criterion” field should indicate how the good originates (meets the terms of the agreement) with the greatest specificity possible," it said in a CSMS message. For instance, if an imported good that includes non-originating materials, which undergo the required tariff-shift within a FTA, the Preference Criterion space should list what specific HTS General Note or FTA criteria that the tariff shift meets in order to get preferential treatment, said CBP.
A new CBP User Fee Advisory Committee will provide advice to the CBP commissioner "on issues related to trade and immigration user fees, port staffing levels, and inspectional services," the agency said in a press release. The committee membership is meant to reflect trade and travel industries that pay customs, immigration, or agriculture user fees and the committee's term will last until June 2015, it said. The members of the new committee are: