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CBP produces some informative and exciting videos related to international trade. These videos can be found on the CBP.GOV website by going to the “Newsroom” link and selecting Video Gallery. Check out this short informative video called “The Truth Behind Counterfeits.”
Episode 1 The CBP Office of Trade Control has joined together with Santa’s Workshop for an exiting new Series, CBP Trade Special Operation North pole. Check out the investigation and learn more about how all goods, even those from Santa’s Workshop, need to adhere to U.S. trade laws.
Ahead of the upcoming guidance on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), it is strongly recommended that all importers review their supply chain to ensure that their goods are not being made with forced labor. CBP has a FAQ section for the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that covers Withhold Release Orders, proof of admissibility, and best practices. The Due Diligence/Best Practices section has extensive resources that you can apply when reviewing your supply chain. The UFLPA will be going into effect on June 21st, so be sure to do your due diligence as soon as possible.
AD/CVD (Anti-dumping and countervailing duty) is a hot topic in the trade world these days. Determining whether AD/CVD applies to products is imperative to understand the costs of imported goods. Applicability of AD/CVD is typically based on the description of the item as it relates to the scope of the AD/CVD order. HTS codes are part of AD/CVD scopes but are not the deciding factor.
Using case numbers, The US Customs & Border Protection system for AD/CVD search AD/CVD search can provide information on specific cases including scope and other background related to individual cases. Simply enter a case number in the search field and the results will appear. Users can sort by date, status, type and much more.
US importers are responsible for keeping all records related to imporations into the United States for the legal retention period. In general records must be kept for 5 years from the date of entry, or 5 years from the date of the activity which required the creation of the record. Failure to produce entry records upon lawful demand can result in significant consequences. Check out CBP’s informed compliance publication on “Recordkeeping” in the link below to learn more.
Flagging for reconciliation allows importers to file their entry summaries using the best available information they have on file and electronically “flag” estimated elements, with the mutual understanding that CBP will receive the actual information at a later date. Importers can then provide the corrected information on a new type of entry called a Reconciliation. To read more about reconciliation, check out the link below.
CBP’s website (linked below) for “Official Notice of Extension, Suspension and Liquidation” can be used to determine the status of entries. Entries must have a status of extension, suspension, or liquidated to produce any results. Some of the information returned includes Posted date, Liquidation date, Action (meaning change increase or no change, etc.), Port of Entry, Entry date, Entry Type, and the CEE Team designation.
Users can search by entry number along with combinations of filer code and importer of record numbers. This can be a useful quick check tool to see the status of entries!
The US Census Bureau’s Schedule B search engine is another useful tool for getting started finding HTS codes and or Schedule B numbers. Schedule B numbers follow a similar pattern to US HTS codes (although there’s less Schedule B numbers). The numbering system is like the harmonized system.
Using the Schedule B Search Engine simply requires answering a few key questions about the commodity being reviewed. Then a potential Schedule B is displayed on the screen. This can be useful for imports if the item being classified is not very familiar to the classifier.
Check out the Schedule B Search engine at the link below.
Free Trade Agreements are a great way to reduce costs through the reduction or elimination of duties on qualified items. Free Trade Agreement items are often qualified for the agreement through numerous rules centered around the rules of origin. Did you know that many finished goods may qualify for a free trade agreement even though it has material from countries that are not part of the agreement? The rules of origin can be daunting but rewarding if applied effectively. Check out the listing of free trade agreements in the US in the link below. Need help? Contact JAS Forwarding USA Inc. Compliance today!
CBP has published numerous “Informed Compliance Publications.” These articles offer extensive commentary onvarious topics from how to classify apparel and sets to rules of origin andmuch more. The full list of informed compliancepublications can be found at the link below:
Effective July 1, 2021, the United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) will implement the sewing thread requirement.
Sewing thread of headings 5204, 5401, 5508, or yarn of heading 5402 (used as sewing thread) and used in apparel products of Chapters 61 and 62 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, will only be considered originating if the thread is both formed and finished in the territory of one or more USMCA parties.
Sewing thread is considered formed and finished in one or more USMCA countries, if all production processes and finishing operations, starting with the extrusion of filaments, strips, film or sheets, and including slitting of a film or sheet into strips, or the spinning of all fibers into yarn, or both, and ending with the finished single or plied thread ready for use for sewing without further processing. (Non- originating fiber maybe used in the production of sewing thread of headings 5204, 5401 or 5508, or yarn of heading 5402 used as sewing thread.)
Is your product being investigated for possible antidumping or countervailing duties? Do you know how to find if it is before a formalized case has published? The International Trade Commission (USITC) publishes public notices regarding investigations, solicitations, public comments, and questionnaires. Click HERE to go to the USITC webpage for public notices.
The new version of the publication “Don’t Let This Happen to You” is now available! This publication is an introduction to the consequences of violating U.S. Export Control laws. It includes actual investigations, export control and antiboycott violations published by the Bureau of Industry Security.
To read the access the latest version, CLICK HERE.
Did you know that Harbor Maintenance Fees (HMF) are exempt on an Entry Summary line (when MOT 10 vessel non-containerized, 11 vessel containerized, or 12 barge) when the article is classified under some HTS chapter 98 provisions? Chapter 9808 has been added to that list. The HTS chapter 98 provisions that exempt the HMF are now 9804, 9805, 9806, 9807, 9808, and 9809.
On March 1, 2021, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a decision with important ramifications for any company that uses “first sale” to reduce customs duty liability for goods imported into the United States. All companies relying on first sale should review their first sale programs to evaluate the impact of this ruling and take adequate precautions.
Are you unsure if your shipment is subject to antidumping or countervailing duties? Do you need a better understanding of which government agencies are involved and enforce the regulations? Do you need a better understanding of preliminary case determinations or what happens when there is a final determination? Click HERE to review the most frequently asked questions published by US Customs to answer a lot of questions as it relates to antidumping and countervailing duties.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today released the findings of its 2020 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy (the Notorious Markets List), which highlights online and physical markets that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy.
The export statistics are initially collected and compiled in terms of approximately 8,000 commodity classifications in Schedule B: Statistical Classification of Domestic and Foreign Commodities Exported from the United States. The 2021 Schedule B has been released and is available online!
The country of origin for imported goods has always been important; however, it has become increasingly more important. It has long been important for country of origin marking and free trade agreement eligibility. Now with Antidumping and Countervailing duties and Section 232 and 301 duties it has taken on new significance. Be sure to review the Rules of Origin in CFR19 Part 102by CLICKING HERE to ensure the correct Rule of Origin is being reported!
Customs and Border Protection require a minimum of 16 data elements on a commercial invoice for entry processing. Please review the commercial invoice requirements for a full detailed description.
Are you practicing reasonable care to ensure importedgoods are not produced wholly or in part with convict labor, forced laborand/or indentured labor? CBP haspublished a reasonable care checklist that includes questions to help importersavoid forced labor of imported goods.
Are there questions about what is subject to China tariffs for products from Hong Kong since the new rule has been published? CBP has provided a list of frequently asked questions available on their website. To see the list of questions and answers, click HERE!
Entry Type 86 is a fairly new entry type intended to help Customs and Border Protection (CBP) manage the flow of goods by creating greater visibility for low-value shipments entering the U.S. while improving border protection, import security, and safety. As of September 2019, imports to the U.S. with a de minimus value of less than $800 can be classified under type 86. Do you have questions about how or when this entry type can be used? Please see the list of FAQ’s on Customs website regarding entry type 86.
CBP has published a list of frequently asked questions regarding the U.S. Australia Free Trade Agreement. The FAQ’s answers questions related to claims of preferential tariff treatment, certification of origin, documentation, verification and more! Click HERE to read more!
Registrar Corp’s Regulatory Advisors are available 24-hours a day seven days a week to assist with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. They have a live chat that is managed by global staff to help assist with questions regarding labeling requirements, FDA registration, detained shipments and more.
Please visit their website for further information!
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s 2023 Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit was held April 17 to 19 in Boston with a record live attendance of 1,200 and 3,000 virtual participants. Panel and breakout sessions covered a variety of topics including De Minimis challenges, Cybersecurity, Forced labor enforcement, Green trade, E-commerce, Broker Modernization, and several Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) sessions. CBP Acting Commissioner Troy A. Miller spoke at the event and stated, “Protecting the security, health and economic vitality of the American people has required intense work and commitment from customs brokers, logistics experts, importers and exporters, legal advisors, civil society and many more. Thank you for your partnership.”
The month of June is the birth month of a historical figure whose life, though brief, continues to inspire to the present day. Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929. Anne was a young Jewish girl who documented her family’s experiences in a series of diaries she wrote while hiding from Nazi persecution from 1942 to 1944 in an attic in Amsterdam. Tragically, Anne and her family were eventually discovered and arrested by the Gestapo. Anne was sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where she tragically died. However, in spite of her suffering, Anne penned such quotes as “Where there’s hope, there’s life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again”. May we all approach each day with the same hope-filled spirit.
On April 19, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued the largest standalone administrative penalty in its history. The US Company and its Singaporean affiliate were imposed a $300 million civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of U.S. Export Controls related to selling hard disk drives to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. The US Company continued to do business with Huawei despite being aware of the August 2020 controls that BIS imposed on Huawei. This is another reminder of the importance of entity screening and the need to discontinue relations with sanctioned entities. To read more details, check out the BIS press release in the link below.
Laurie Arnold, JAS Vice President of Compliance and the NCBFAA Treasurer, spoke on the panel "Past, Present, & Future" at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association's (NCBFAA) 50th annual conference in New Orleans. Pulling out her "crystal ball," Laurie speculated on what the future work environment might look like considering the ongoing development of Artificial Intelligence and chat apps. The panel also discussed the environmental benefits of remote work and the potential danger of cyberattacks on business, power grids and the water supply.
As a reminder, per 15 CFR 30.60, the Electronic Export Information (EEI) collected by the Census Bureau is confidential and it "shall not be disclosed to anyone by any officer, employee, contractor, agent of the federal government or other parties with access to the EEI other than to the USPPI or the authorized agent of the USPPI."
The Internal Revenue Service issued its much anticipated notice of proposed rulemaking outlining the requirements for electric vehicle eligibility for the Section 30D New Clean Vehicle Credit of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. A total credit of $7,500 is available provided that; 40% of the critical minerals used to manufacture the vehicle's battery must be extracted or processed in the U.S. or any country the U.S. has a free trade agreement with (which increases to 80% by 2026); and 50% of the battery components must be manufactured or assembled in North America (which increases to 100% by 2028). There are also maximum vehicle value limitations and phased in prohibitions for components and minerals coming from a "foreign entity of concern" (to be defined at a later date). Check out the full Federal Register notice at the link below:
The implementation of UFLPA has led to a marked increase in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detentions which, at present, are notified to the trade via a paper CBP form 6051D Notice of Detention. On May 20, 2023, CBP will deploy to the ACE Secure Data Portal the automation of the form to allow the trade to complete the form and provide additional documentation to CBP via the portal.
The lead Congressional sponsor of UFLPA, Senators Jeffrey Merkley and Marco Rubio and Representatives James McGovern and Christopher Smith, sent a letter to Robert Silvers, Chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) requesting, inter alia, more robust reporting to Congress of UFLPA enforcement measures, expansion of the Entity List, and increased scrutiny of de minimis shipments. To read more, click the button below.
The 9th annual Global Trade Education Conference (G-TEC), hosted by the NCBFAA Educational Instistute (NEI) will be held at the Omni Hotel in Oklahoma City, OK from July 31 toAugust 1, 2023. G-TEC is the premier industry training conference and this year's event includes a Pre-Conference Workshop on Sunday afternoon. For more details and registration information, click below.
March 30, 2023, CSMS message 55701614 was released indicating “The new requirements for reporting the countries of smelt and cast for imports of aluminum and aluminum derivative products effective on April 10, 2023 have been delayed thirty days until May 10, 2023. This will allow additional time for the trade to update their software programming and systems to comply with these new reporting requirements.”
On March 17, 2023, the United States Court of International Trade held issued its opinion on whether the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative complied with the Administrative Procedure Act. This opinion was related to lists 3 and 4a of the Section 301 tariffs on China. In the opinion, the Trade Court upheld the Section 301 tariff action. To read the full opinion, check out the link below.
CBP has developed a UFLPA dashboard! CBP recently noted “Since UFLPA went into effect last year, CBP has hosted more than 150 engagements with industry providing compliance information and guidance,” said AnnMarie R. Highsmith, Executive Assistant Commissioner for CBP’s Office of Trade. “The Technical Expo and dashboard represent the next major step in our joint engagement with industry towards achieving our mutual goal, not just to prevent forced labor from entering the U.S. commerce, but from ever happening in the first place.”
CBP produces some informative and exciting videos related to international trade. These videos can be found on the CBP.GOV website by going to the “Newsroom” link and selecting Video Gallery. Check out this short informative video called “The Truth Behind Counterfeits.”
The Impracticable to Screen (ITS) currently has an amendment to the 100% screening requirements that is set to expire on October 31, 2023. The expiration of this amendment could have significant affects on US shippers that ship cargo that falls within this category, items such as drums and sacks. For more details, we have included our advisory on this issue below.
In February, BIS (Bureau of Industry and Security) issued a penalty for over 2 million dollars to a 3D printing company that exported military design documents to China and Germany. To read more, check out the link below.
Thomas Tusser was a poet in 16th century England. His poetry contains the origin of a famous saying about April showers and what follows in May. His best-known poem was called “Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry.” Tusser’s rhyme was just a little different than ours today but the message is the same!
“Sweete April showers,
Doo spring Maie flowers”
Today, it reads:
April showers bring May flowers!
Happy April!
Updated guidance for processing approved Section 232 product exclusions was announced on February 7, 2023 via CSMS message 55014059.
CBP now directly processes approved Section 232 exclusions based on weekly lists provided by DOC. CBP activates approved product exclusion IDs in ACE on a weekly basis.
Importers can check CBP.gov every Friday, to determine if a Section 232 approved product exclusions is active in ACE. The posting can be found at https://www.cbp.gov/document/publications/active-section-232-product-exclusions-ace.
Polyvinyl chloride, which is one of the most widely produced synthetic plastics, is used in a wide variety of applications including doors, windows and even flooring. PVC may be a new target for CBP in the Forced Labor arena. Sandler Travis & Rosenberg’s article shares a little more on this topic. To check it out click on the link below.
CBP “participated” in the big game. CBP’s efforts include the security screening of all vehicles entering and working in the stadium in advance of Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, AZ. CBP is often called to help with events of this magnitude.
CBP Officers are trained to look for things that are out of place or not quite right. Officers use specific questions and tactics to determine if anything is not normal.
The US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, released a statement regarding Mexico’s resolution aimed at prohibiting imports of merchandise produced with forced labor.
“With this resolution, Mexico has taken an important step toward joining the United States and Canada in prohibiting the importation of goods produced with forced labor. In light of this progress, the United States, Canada, and Mexico will work more closely together to eliminate forced labor from global supply chains and tackle transshipment, leveling the playing field for North American workers while protecting the most vulnerable workers around the world,” said Katherine Tai, US Trade Representative.
A civil lawsuit was filed and settled against a US based vitamin corporation that imports and sells nutritional supplements from China. The settlement resolves claims that the importer was defrauding the US by misclassifying products under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule in order to avoid paying duties. This resulted in the the U.S. Attorney announcement of a $22.8 million settlement. To read more check out the link below.
Technically, pickles are fruit. They are made from cucumbers which are commonly seen as vegetables; however, they are a seed containing fruit of the cucumber plant. But what’s kind of a big “dill” is that the lucky pickles are classified correctly for importing and exporting purposes! Pickles are to be classified in heading chapter 2001 which provides for other vegetables, fruit, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid! Happy St Patrick’s Day!!
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Louisville KY detained a shipment believed to be counterfeit jewelry on January 2.
CBP officers examined the shipment to determine the admissibility of the goods and discovered the shipment contained 4,920 pairs of earrings with Chanel logos. They were seized for infringing Chanel’s protected trademarks. The earrings, arriving from China and heading to Maryland, would have been worth a total of $1.37 million had they been genuine.
“This just goes to show you how criminals are using express consignment facilities to ship their items to unsuspecting consumers, damaging our economy,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations-Chicago Field Office. “I want to congratulate our Officers for their outstanding job. CBP is the first line of defense, and we will continue to protect the safety of consumers.”
CBP has established an educational initiative to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers associated with purchasing counterfeit and pirated goods online or in stores. More information about that initiative is available at www.cbp.gov/fakegoodsrealdangers.
Beginning March 18, 2023 US Customs will require a postal code for entries with goods manufactured in China. CBP will utilize the postal codes to help determine if the imported products are coming from the Uyghur region. This enhancement will provide an early notification to importers of the possibility their goods may have been produced with forced labor. Any warning messages we receive will be reported to the importer.
Valentines Day is February 14th a day that is common to give cards to the one you love. Did you know that Valentine’s Day cards date back to the 18th Century. Initially cards were handmade. Lovers would decorate paper with flowers and love knots and they often included lines of poetry. These cards were then slipped secretly under a door or tied to the door handle. The first commercial Valentine’s Day cards appeared in England at the end of the 18th century. These cards were often made of wood and colored by hand. In the mid 19th century Valentines Day cards rapidly gained popularity in America. Technology allowed for more elaborate cards to be produced cheaply which helped them gain in popularity. Hallmark produced the first Valentines Day card in 1913.
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