Shippers' Newswire reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expects to complete this month a preliminary blueprint to test the feasibility of using outside auditors to help verify the C-TPAT supply chain security practices of foreign suppliers. The article adds that according to CBP Commissioner Basham, third-party validation is a tool that CBP can use for locations where the U.S. has little access, such as China. (AS, dated 10/12/06, www.americanshipper.com )
CBP CROSS Rulings
CBP issues binding advance rulings in connection with the importation of merchandise into the United States. They issue the rulings to give the trade community transparency of how CBP will treat a prospective import or carrier transaction. Common rulings include the tariff classification, country of origin, or free trade agreement applicability of merchandise, among other things. These rulings are available in CBP's Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) database.
On October 13, 2006, President Bush signed into law the conference version of H.R. 4954, entitled the "Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006" (SAFE Port Act), a measure intended to improve maritime and cargo security through enhanced layered defenses, and for other purposes.
In the October 4, 2006 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 40, No. 41), CBP published a notice proposing to modify one classification ruling and revoke treatment as follows:
On October 13, 2006, President Bush signed into law the conference version of H.R. 4954, entitled the "Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006" (SAFE Port Act), a measure intended to improve maritime and cargo security through enhanced layered defenses, and for other purposes.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule, effective January 9, 2007, that will require that manufacturers and processors of human food and cosmetics that are manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise contain, material from cattle establish and maintain records sufficient to demonstrate that the human food or cosmetic is not manufactured from, processed with, or does not otherwise contain, prohibited cattle materials.
In the October 4, 2006 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 40, No. 41), CBP published a notice proposing to revoke a classification ruling and treatment as follows:
CBP has posted to its Web site a notice announcing that the global tariff rate quota (TRQ) on refined sugar (including specialty sugar) that opened on October 2, 2006 oversubscribed at opening moment. The pro rata percentage is 50.47% or .5047.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice, effective September 28, 2006, to notify the public that, consistent with April and July 2006 Court of International Trade (CIT) decisions, it will be withholding certain distributions under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (CDSOA, also known as the Byrd Amendment) that derive from antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duties assessed on goods from Canada or Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site an updated version of its document entitled "User Fee Decals and Transponders."
On October 4, 2006, President Bush signed into law H.R. 5441, the fiscal year (FY) 2007 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection) (Public Law (P.L.) 109-295). According to a DHS press release, H.R. 5441 provides for (partial list): improved border security; enhanced port, container, and cargo security; increased transportation funds; etc. See future issue of ITT for details on H.R. 5441.(DHS press release, dated 10/04/06, available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=5957.)