CBP will hold a public auction for merchandise left unclaimed or abandoned by importers on July 11, at the Carteret Rahway Holiday Inn in Carteret, N.J. Items for sale include men’s sweaters, adult T-shirts, food stuffs like pickles and sweet relish, a 2000 Ford Expedition, a 36 ft. fishing boat, two 1948 Rolls Royces, jewelry, artwork, all-terrain vehicles and personal effects. The items for sale may be new or used, and are sold in lots ranging from single items to wholesale quantities. Photos of items can be found (here).
In the July 3 issue of the CBP Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 28), CBP published two notices that propose to modify rulings and similar treatment regarding the tariff classification of quinoa seeds and D-Lysine, a type of amino acid.
The National Customs Broker and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) came to the defense of the customs broker industry following the recent sentencing of a president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association for evading customs duties for importers (see 13070525). "While it is unfortunate that Mr. Chavez was the president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association, that fact is certainly not an indictment on the other good, hardworking firms who are members of that association or the industry as a whole," said NCBFAA President Darrell Sekin in a statement. "It is a profession that works closely with Customs and Border Protection and other U.S. agencies on an ongoing basis to help insure that goods entering the commerce of the United States meet the letter of U.S. law. Customs brokers throughout the U.S. help to guide importers through the many intricacies involved in importing including issues involving intellectual property rights, antidumping, marking, Food and Drug Administration requirements, and the regulations of many other government agencies. We support the removal of bad actors from the international trade community, whether they be customs brokers, customs officials, or any others who would seek to illegally introduce articles into the commerce of the United States.”
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 July 3, 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 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the implementation of the Entry/Exit Information system’s second phase on July 5. Under Phase II of the Entry/Exit program (see 12100139), DHS and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will “expand the exchange of biographic entry data collected on third-country nationals, permanent residents of Canada who are not U.S. citizens, and lawful permanent residents of the U.S. who are not Canadian citizens, to all automated land ports of entry at the common border, including all major land border crossings,” CBP said. The process of collecting and sharing information for Phase II will be done in accordance with each country’s privacy laws and policies, consistent with the Action plan, Joint Statement of Privacy Principles, and an Annex to the Statement of Mutual Understanding on Information Sharing agreed to by DHS and CBSA. Both countries have issued appropriate privacy documents, and more information can be found (here) and (here).
CBP posted a July 2 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 operations in 35 states resulted in a major U.S. seizure of synthetic drugs with hundreds of law enforcement actions and nearly $15 million in cash and assets, the agency reported on July 3. The operation, dubbed "Project Synergy," is a collaborative effort between CBP, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other U.S. and international law enforcement partners. The program targeted designer drug trafficking organizations including retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, CBP said. CBP also said that the Project’s June 26 enforcement action netted over 150 arrest warrants and nearly 375 search warrants. Operations also included efforts by law enforcement in Australia, Barbados, Panama and Canada, along with state and local law enforcement agencies.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of July 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 adopted an amendment to its regulations that would add recordkeeping requirements for U.S. exports of rough diamonds and include additional information on requirements for rough diamond import and export. CBP will now require any U.S. persons exporting from the U.S. a shipment of rough diamonds to retain a copy of the Kimberley Process Certificate accompanying each shipment for at least five years from the date of export and make the copy available for examination at the request of CBP, the agency said in a notice. CBP added to its regulations the requirements of diamond importing/exporting contained in the Treasury Department's Rough Diamonds Control Regulations (RDCR) (31 CFR part 592).