A Regional Strategy on Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) was approved by the XVIth Regional Conference of Customs Directors General of the Americas and Caribbean Region, held in Panama City April 1, the World Customs Organization said. The conference also identified the WCO Economic Competitiveness Package and the Revised Kyoto Convention as the key tools to achieving the objectives from a Customs point of view, it said.
CBP posted a April 1 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.
C-TPAT said it had completed 22,492 validations by Feb. 1, in a C-TPAT program achievements notice. It said that included 11,775 initial validations completed and 10,717 revalidations completed. By year, there were 640 initial validations and 1,736 revalidations in 2012, and 78 initial validations and 186 revalidations so far this year.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of April 1. 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 published the quarterly Internal Revenue Service interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refund (overpayments) of customs duties. For the calendar year which began April 1, 2013, the interest rates for overpayments will be 2 percent for corporations and 3 percent for non-corporations, and the rate of underpayments will be 3 percent for corporations and non-corporations.
CBP plans to modify and expand its test for the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) by adding six new CEEs -- the Agriculture & Prepared Products CEE; the Apparel, Footwear & Textiles CEE; the Base Metals CEE; the Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising CEE; the Industrial & Manufacturing Materials CEE; and the Machinery CEE -- will be opened and tested to determine how they will operate with broad decision- making authority, it said in a Federal Register notice scheduled for April 4.
Neither a System of Records Notice (SORN) nor a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on exempting certain information collected through the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) from the Privacy Act is a burden on the public, CBP said in a FAQ publication on the Act (here).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website April 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 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 master of any foreign vessel is required to deliver the vessel's documents to the CBP port on or before entry of the vessel, CBP's Houston field office said in a March 28 information notice reminding filers of regulations on foreign vessel documents. "If a vessel clearance is not presented concurrent to vessel entrance, the vessel registry will be retained by the servicing CBP office or may be delivered to the consul of the national to which the vessel belongs until CBP grants vessel clearance," it said. "in order to facilitate the clearance process, the Area Port suggests that vessel masters file their entry and clearance paperwork with the same CBP office." This will allow for original documents to be returned sooner, said CBP.
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated March 25. The corresponding downloadable rulings are now available.