Category Archive

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 …

U.S. and E.U. Agree to Suspend Additional Tariffs for Large Aircraft Disputes On March 4, 2021, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued an announcement of a joint statement by the United States and the European Community to suspend the tariffs related to the World Trade Organization aircraft disputes. This temporary suspension of four months covers all the …

USDA has Added New Data Sets for Filing of Certain Types of Entries Effective Jan 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented new data set requirements in ACE filing entries for certain imports. This is part of the ACE project of connecting “other government agency” requirements with the customs entry. The changes include: APHIS CORES = Animal Plant …

GSP and MTB Will Not be Extended on January 1 The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and the Miscellaneous Trade Bill (MTB) were not included in the Omnibus bill and will not be extended on January 1, 2021. GSP will mostly be renewed as it has been when it has expired several times in the past. Duties will have to …

CBP Issues a New WRO on Certain Cotton from China On Wednesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made an announcement of a withhold release order (WRO) on all cotton products made by Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp. (XPCC). The WRO applies to all cotton and cotton products made by XPCC including XPCC’s subordinate and affiliated entities. This means that …

CBP has Changed Some Criteria for Data for ISF Filing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice with a change to the format for data for filing of the Importer Security Filing (ISF). The change deals with the use of an IRS Employee Identification Number for the importer number. This is often called either an EIN number …

USTR Grants Exclusion Extensions to China 301 List 4 The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register Notice (FRN) on September 2, 2020 granting 87 extensions to exclusions from China 301 duties, for certain items on List 4. Fourteen (14) of the extensions were for specific HTSUS numbers with no specific description to be met …

FTC Issues Proposes new Made in America Rules In July the Federal Trade Commission issued a Federal Register Notice (FRN) with new proposed rules for an unqualified claim that if a good was made in the United States and for the marking of goods as made in the United States. The rules were issued to clarify and hopefully simplify the …

USTR Issues FRN asking for Comments for Extending Exclusions on List 1 The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register Notice (FRN) on Monday asking for comments to extend for possible 12 more months the exclusions on list 1 that are due to expire on October 2, 2020. There are 3 lists of exclusions that are …

President Trump Issues Executive Order on Hong Kong Autonomy On Tuesday July 14th, President Trump issued an Executive Order regarding China’s actions in Hong Kong dealing with its new control of life in Hong Kong. The President has determined that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China and has suspended many of the provisions of the Hong Kong Policy …

Revised USMCA Interim Implementation Instructions U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published revised Interim Implementation Instructions for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). It provides various updates to instructions, many of which were based on questions CBP received in the webinars they hosted. The instructions are guidelines and the final regulations are expected near the date of implementation; however, the guidelines …

USTR Issues Regulations on USMCA Rules of Origin The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued regulations on the Rules of Origin for the United States, Mexico, Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA). It includes several definitions and explanations on things such as transaction value when determining value content. The notice can be found on the USTR’s website. USTR Requests …

FTC Proposes to Require Energy Labeling on Portable Air Conditioners The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has published a proposed rule to require new EnergyGuide yellow labels on portable air conditioners. It would also require sellers to post label information to their catalogs and websites. Portable air conditioners are defined as “a portable encased assembly, other than a packaged terminal air …

CBP has All Ports of Entry Operational We are receiving several inquiries about the status of services by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for the processing of entries and the release of cargo in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Right now, there are no ports closed and CBP is working all cargo, including exams. At the ocean terminals …

Details of the U.S.- Japan Trade Agreement Available A Presidential Proclamation on several trade agreement issues was posted in a Federal Register Notice (FRN) on December 30th. This includes changes to the Israel Free Trade Area Agreement (ILFTA) and the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). It also includes the announcement of the U.S. Japan Trade Agreement which includes the …

Agreement on USMCA Announced The White House and Democrats in the House of Representatives have finally come to an agreement on the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. After agreeing to sidebar changes in labor, the environment, and after Mexico had conceded to some of the edits required by labor, Speaker Pelosi has been able to announce that there is an agreement on the …

President Trump Announces GSP Changes and Other Changes President Trump has Issued a Presidential Proclamation announcing changes in Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status for seven countries. First, the Ukraine has had 138 classifications restored to GSP that had been suspended in 2017. This change went into effect on October 30, 2019. Second, Thailand will have approximately one-third of the …