CBP's Newark field office outlined the recently revised form requirements under Lacey Act provisions being enforced by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (see 3081926). CBP gave a presentation on the subject at the Sept. 12 quarterly meeting in Newark. The changes, which add to language to Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Form 585 (Permit to Import Timber or Timber Products) and PPQ Form 621 (Protected Plant Permit to Engage in the Business of Importing, Exporting or Re-exporting Terrestrial Plants or Plant Products that are Protected), are meant "to make certain importers understand their obligations under the Lacey Act," the presentation said. The revised language will include information on the requirement to submit a PPQ Form 505 when importing applicable commodities, it said. The agency also offered some best practices when an importer is unsure if a form is needed, including checking with foreign governments and asking APHIS.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Sept. 11, 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 is up to 1,284 total Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) validations, including 339 initial validations and 945 revalidations, the agency said in an update on C-TPAT achievements. CBP has said it plans to get through 2,200 validations this year (see 13060627). There has also been a total of 1,690 suspensions and 1,242 C-TPAT removals.

In the Sept. 4 issue of the CBP Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 28), CBP published two notices that propose to revoke rulings and similar treatment for the tariff classification of ceramic travel coffee cups and file organizers.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:

CBP officers seized 1,623 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated value of $730,350, hidden in a shipment of limes at the Otay Mesa cargo facility Sept. 6, CBP said. Upon examination of a 1994 Kenworth tractor-trailer, officers discovered 270 wrapped packages of marijuana concealed inside the boxes of limes. The driver, a 47-year-old male Mexican citizen, was arrested and the conveyance was seized.

The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release/Simplified Entry (SE) Status Notification documentation for Oct. 5 deployment was reposted online on Sept. 10 as a future ACE ABI (Automated Broker Interface) CATAIR (Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements) chapter (here), CBP said. CBP said the ACE Cargo Release/SE input documentation was reposted to include a correction to the Carrier Code in the SE16 record, which should be listed as 4AN to accommodate various codes. The certification environment is now available to trade members for testing.

CBP posted a Sept. 9 version of its CF 1400 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Entrances) electronic query report of the Vessel Management System (VMS), in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by entrances. CBP also posted a version of its CF 1401 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Clearances) electronic query report of the VMS, in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by clearances.

CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Sept. 9. 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 released its Sept. 11 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 38). While the Bulletin does not contain any ruling articles, it does include recent general notices and Court of International Trade decisions.