CBP is seeking to revise its regulations to lessen requirements for importing goods from U.S. territories, known as insular possessions, that fall outside the customs territory, it said in a notice of proposed rulemaking. Currently, to receive duty-free treatment of imports from U.S. territories other than Puerto Rico, the importer is required to file a signed CBP Form 3229 with each entry that includes the signature of a customs official at the port of export. The agency proposes to update its regulations in 19 CFR Part 7 to remove the export verification altogether and only require the importer to provide the form upon CBP request.

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 Jan. 9, 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.)

The U.S. government is extending and amending import restrictions for five years on archaeological materials from China, which are set to expire Jan. 14, said CBP in a Federal Register notice. The notice, effective Jan. 14, said the State Department has determined that conditions continue to warrant the imposition of import restrictions and CBP's regulations will be amended to reflect the extension. The list of designated articles will also be amended to include archaeological materials representing China’s cultural heritage from the Paleolithic Period (c. 75,000 B.C.) through the end of the Tang Period (A.D. 907) and monumental sculpture and wall art at least 250 years old as of January 14, 2009, said CBP.

Importers should continue to flag goods that are eligible for Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) despite the expiration of the program on July 31, said CBP Seattle in a trade information notice. The normal duty rate should be paid for GSP goods following the expiration, but continued flagging of the imports will allow CBP to process automatic duty refunds if GSP is renewed with a retroactive clause, the agency said. Importers should use the special program indicator (SPI) A or A+, it said. The expiration of GSP won't affect payment of the merchandise processing fee, said CBP.

CBP is extending the comment period to Feb. 10 for an existing information collection on forms for vessel entrance or clearance statements. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.

CBP will allow for an extra day without penalty for filing of entries and duties that were due in the Port of Boston and Logan Airport Jan. 3, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). Filings due to the Toledo port of entry on Jan. 6 and 7 will also be given an extra day, it said in another CSMS message (here).

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

Noel Sanchez was promoted to acting director of CBP's Laredo Field Office, the agency said in a press release. Sanchez, who was previously deputy commander for the South Texas Campaign, will take over for Eugenio Garza, who retired Jan. 3, said CBP.

CBP has learned of "several instances of containerized cargo pilferage and/or manipulation between Lesotho and the Port of Durban, South Africa," the agency said in a notice to Customs-Trade Partners Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members. The notice is dated "December 2013" but was recently posted to CBP's site. Thieves in the area "steal the original cargo while in transit and then counterbalance the container with items of no value so that the weight of the container remains the same as the original weight so as not to alert local Customs officials," said CBP. The thieves have most commonly targeted shipments of apparel and textiles and it's not unusual to "find employees of local companies involved in cargo theft in South Africa," said CBP.