In the March 15, 2006 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 40, No. 12), CBP issued a notice modifying one classification ruling and revoking two classification rulings on certain textile braids with metallic strip. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions.
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.
In the March 15, 2006 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 40, No. 12), CBP issued a notice revoking a classification ruling on microwave popcorn. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions.
Shippers' NewsWire reports that Starbucks Corp. has said that it will install a security device that detects unauthorized opening of container doors on all shipments of coffee beans from Guatemala to the U.S. and Europe. According to the article, Starbucks is the first commercial customer for CommerceGuard, the container security device manufactured by GE Security. The article notes that Starbucks is moving out on its own with the security device even though U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is still evaluating it as part of its Smart Box initiative. (SNW, dated 03/16/06, www.americanshipper.com.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice on the CAFTA-DR tariff rate quotas (TRQs) that have been implemented for the March 1, 2006 - December 31, 2006 period for certain "qualifying" agricultural products (except sugar) from El Salvador, the only country to date that the U.S. has implemented the CAFTA-DR for.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a revised version of its frequently asked questions (FAQ) and responses on its final rule requiring, among other things, the advance electronic presentation of information for inbound vessel cargo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted its new Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) minimum-security criteria for sea carriers, which are effective as of March 1, 2006.
(An incorrect BP summary was published in ITT on February 28, 2006, 06022805. A new version is being issued in order to correctly indicate that CBP's (indefinitely postponed) "Phase 4" enforcement of mandatory advance electronic information requirements for truck carriers was to have been effective only for ports that had ACE e-manifest as an option for truck carriers.)
On February 28, 2006, President Bush issued Proclamation 7987 to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), etc., to implement the U.S.-Dominican Republic- Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) for El Salvador.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted four recently reviewed Informed Compliance Publications (ICPs), with March 2006 updates, to its Web site:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message to advise the trade of the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) system requirements needed to file a U.S. - Central America - Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) claim.