UFLPA Instructions Have Been Published Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the strategy instructions of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) which were expected to be released on June 21. The strategy instructions were required to be released to the trade in order to begin enforcement of the Act. A copy of the “Strategy to Prevent the …

Operational Guidelines on UFPLA are not the Final Word Last Friday we sent out a memo touting U.S Customs and Border Protections Guidelines for the Uyghur Forced Labor Act (UFPLA). These are not the instructions that we have all been waiting for. These are actually operational guidelines that summarize much of what CBP has been presenting on their many webinars. …

CBP Announces Trade Symposium Registration U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that registration for this year’s Trade Symposium will open on June 1, at 12:00 PM EST. They will send out details on how to register that morning. We will send out a message to everyone who receives our memo as soon as we get more details. The …

CBP is Issuing “Known Importer” Letters in Advance of UFLPA U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) has started to send out letters to importers who are identified as possibly having previously imported goods that may be subject to enforcement under the Uyghur Forced Labor Act (UFLPA) which will become effective on June 21, 2022. Under ULFLPA, there is a presumption …

Congress Passes Legislation to Suspend Russia and Belarus from Normal Trade Relations The U.S. Congress has passed bill HR 7108 – Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act and submitted it in to President Biden. This act will temporarily revoke the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status from both Russia and Belarus and subject them to HTSUS Column 2 …

USTR Reinstates 352 Exclusions to China 301 Duties On March 23, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) made an announcement of reinstatement of 352 of the China 301 duty exclusions that expired last year. These exclusions include 137 from List 1, 59 from List 3 and 87 form List 4a. We should be able to file entries under …

FMC Holds Hearings on Enforcement The Federal Maritime Commissions (FMC) has held hearings on enforcement activities that included prioritizing enforcement efforts dealing with ocean carrier behavior in compliance, particularly with the guideline that the FMC issued in 2020.  Personnel from the Bureau of Enforcement covered how they are meeting the direction from Chairman Maffei on enforcement efforts on unreasonable demurrage …

FMC Commissioner Daniel Maffei Disparages PierPass The West Coast Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) filed an amendment to the PierPass agreement that would make it a permanent program. PierPass is an incentive program to assess fees to beneficial cargo owners to encourage use of off-peak gate services to help eliminate heavy daytime traffic at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long …

Bill Introduced to Tighten the Sec. 321 Process Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), the Chairman of the House ways and Means Committee, has announced new legislation to toughen requirements for release of de minimis shipments (Section 321) with value under $800.00. Representative Blumenauer wants to eliminate loophole that will make it easier for people to allow better oversight on the goods …

Schumer wants to add MTB and GSP Renewal to NDAA Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has written to his colleagues that it is likely that the Senate will consider the National Defense Authorization Act this week and that the China package that includes the renewal of the Miscellaneous Trade Bill (MTB) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) that the …

Ports of LA/LB Assessing New Fee to Help Relieve Congestion In cooperation with the Biden Administration Task Force, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced that they will begin to assess a new fee to carriers for containers that dwell too long on marine terminals. The ports will have two categories for the new fee. The first …

 USTR Will Review Extending Expired Exclusions  The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that they will have a review for possible reinstatement of the 549 exclusions that expired on December 31, 2020.  In a USTR notice, the USTR will accept comments on its published list beginning on October 12, 2021. The comments for the need of the …

USTR Extends Exclusions on Certain Covid-19 Pandemic Medical Care Products The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a notice that would extend the current exclusions for certain medical care products needed to address the covid-19 pandemic.  These exclusions were scheduled to expire on September 30, 202l. That date has been extended for 45 days to November 14. The …

CIT Vacates Repository Order for China 301 Duties on Lists 3 and 4a The Court of International Trade had issued requirements for a repository list of all the unliquidated entries included in the court filings for refunds of the China 301 duties paid under List no. 3 and 4a. In a court order issued on September 8, 2021, the CIT …

CBP Announces Registration for the Next Broker Exam U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has opened registration for the next Broker’s Exam that will take place on October 21, 2021. Registration for the exam will close on September 21, 2021.  CBP is offering both a remote option for the test and an in-person exam. Details about the exam can be …

FMC has Established an Ocean Carriers Audit Program The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has established an Ocean Carriers audit program. Its intent will be to assess if carriers and terminals are following the FMC rules on practices of fairly charging demurrage and detention. We will follow up with FMC to find out if beneficial cargo owners can submit information to …

Registration for CBP’s Virtual Trade Week is Open U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced the CBP 2021 Virtual Trade Week will be held this year on July 20-22. This year’s sessions will include discussions on 21CCF, E-Commerce, Forced Labor, Export Modernization, CTPAT, and 1USG. Registration is now open, and the registration fee is only $30.00. You can get …

Sections in Southern China are Facing Lockdowns Due to Covid-19 Outbreak Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong are continuing to expand viral screening and lockdown measures in response to a Covid-19 variant outbreak which erupted from a dim sum cluster last week. State news agency Xinhua reported that 38 zones in the provincial capital of Guangzhou where the …

Latest Comments on GSP and MTB The Top Republican of the House ways and means committee, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas  would like to see the Miscellaneous Trade B (MTB) renewed before the July recess. He said that the way the changes are being reviewed are not consistent with the established process for passing MTB.  He also said that staffers …

USTR Proposes Section 301 duties for Imports from 6 Countries The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed new Section 301 duties on six countries in response to increases in Digital Service Taxes (DSTs). Each of the six countries, Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and United Kingdom has had a separate Federal Register Notice (FRN) issued with 30 …