Treasury Issues its CBP Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda
The Treasury Department (Treasury) has published its semi-annual regulatory agenda, which contains certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulatory rulemakings (rulemakings).
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(The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also issues its CBP Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda. See future issue of ITT for BP summary of this DHS document.)
Sources have previously stated that this agenda is a comprehensive list of rulemakings at the proposed, final, long-term, and completed stages. For the rulemakings that are still pending completion, the agenda lists the regulation title, an estimate of the timeframe for the next regulatory actions, a brief description of the regulation, and a contact party name and telephone number.
Treasury's semi-annual regulatory agenda contains the following CBP rulemakings (i.e. those regulations that pertain to Chapter 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)):
Proposed Rule Stage (First Appearance in Any Agenda)
NAFTA: Post-Entry Claims and Merchandise Processing Fee Exemption
Treasury states that this proposed rule would limit the filing of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) post-entry tariff preference level (TPL) claims to one year, the same amount of time allowed for post-entry claims for NAFTA "originating merchandise." This proposed rule would also clarify that for an importer to claim the exemption of the merchandise processing fee for goods that meet a NAFTA rule of origin even when the goods are unconditionally free, the importer is subject to the same declaration requirement that is established for claiming NAFTA duty preference. Lastly, this proposed rule would clarify that a Certificate of Origin is not required for a commercial importation for which the total value of originating goods does not exceed $2,500.
Target date for proposed rule 11/05
Proposed Rule Stage (Previously Appeared in Treasury's Agenda)
| Regulation Title | Target Date for Proposed Rule |
| Remote Location Filing | 12/05 |
| Uniform Rules of Origin | 12/05 |
| Revision of Outbound Redelivery Procedures and Liabilities | 12/05 |
| Centralization of the Continuous Bond Program at the CBP National Finance Center | 11/05 |
Final Rule Stage (First Appearance in Any Agenda)
Country of Origin of Textile and Apparel Products
Treasury states that this final rule would update, restructure and consolidate the regulations relating to the country of origin of textile and apparel products. The final rule would reflect changes brought about, in part, by the expiration on January 1, 2005, of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing and the resulting elimination of quotas on entry of textile and apparel products from World Trade Organization (WTO) members. The primary regulatory change would be the elimination of the requirement that a textile declaration be submitted for all importations of textile and apparel products. In addition, to improve the quality of reporting of the manufacturer of imported textiles and apparel products, the final rule would include a requirement that importers identify the manufacturer of such products through a manufacturer identification code.
(See ITT's Online Archives, or 10/06/05 and 10/26/05 news, 05100605 and 05102610, for Parts I and II of BP summary of CBP's interim rule, which went into effect on October 5, 2005).
Target date for final action 03/06
Extension of Import Restrictions Imposed on Certain Categories of Archaeological Material Imported from the Pre-Hispanic Cultures of Nicaragua
Treasury states that this final rule would reflect the extension for an additional five years of the import restrictions on certain categories of archaeological material from the Pre-Hispanic cultures of Nicaragua that were imposed in 2000.
Target date for final action 10/05
Final Rule Stage (Previously Appeared in Treasury's Agenda or DHS' Agenda)
| Regulation Title | Target Date for Final Action |
| Conditional Release Period and Customs Bond Obligations for Food, Drugs, Devices, and Cosmetics | 11/05 |
| Country-of-Origin Marking | 12/05 |
| Expanded Methods of Payment of Duties, Taxes, Interest, Fees | 12/05 |
| User and Navigation Fees; Other Reimbursable Charges | 01/06 |
| African Growth and Opportunity Act and Generalized System of Preferences | 12/05 |
| U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act and Caribbean Basin Initiative | 12/05 |
| Reimbursable Customs Inspectional Services-Increase in Hourly Rate Charge | 01/06 |
| Dog and Cat Protection Act | 02/06 |
| Single Entry for Unassembled or Disassembled Entities Imported on Multiple Conveyances | 11/05 |
| Implementation of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act | 11/05 |
| Trade Benefits Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act | 12/05 |
| Fees for Customs Processing at Express Courier Facilities | 12/05 |
| Trade Benefits Under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act | 12/05 |
| U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement | 12/05 |
| U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement | 11/05 |
| Recordation of Copyrights and Enforcement Procedures to Prevent Importation of Piratical Articles | 12/05 |
This action previously appeared in the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) semi-annual regulatory agenda.
Target Date for Interim Final Rule.
Long-Term Actions (Most Previously Appeared in Treasury's Agenda)
Terrorism Risk Insurance Program; Recoupments of Federal Share of Compensation for Insured Losses
Harbor Maintenance Fee
Donated Cargo Exemption from Harbor Maintenance Fee
Reconciliation
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)-Implementation of Duty-Deferral Program Provisions
Completed Actions(Most Previously Appeared in Treasury's Agenda)
Amendments to the Government Securities Act Regulations: Exemption for Holdings Subject to Fiduciary Standards
Terrorism Risk Insurance Program; Additional Claims Issues
Expanded Weekly Entry Procedure for Foreign Trade Zones
Tariff Treatment Related to Disassembly Operations Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Federal Benefit Payments Under Certain District of Columbia (DC) Retirement Plans
Treasury's Semi-Annual Agenda (FR Pub 10/31/05) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/31oct20050800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/ua051031/pdf/ua051016.pdf