In the February 1, 2006 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 40, No. 6), CBP issued a notice proposing to revoke two classification rulings on a radiotelephony base station cabinet and a noise-limiting hood. CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke 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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an administrative message announcing that port 2770, DHL (Los Angeles), has been removed from the list of approved remote location filing (RLF) ports. RLF filers may transmit entries to Port 2704 or 2720. (Adm: 06-0200, dated 02/08/06, available at http://www.brokerpower.com/cgi-bin/adminsearch/admmsg.view.pl?article=2006/2006-0200.ADM)
Washington Trade Daily reports that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff handed over the government's responsibility for co-directing the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection and Related Functions (COAC) to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). According to the article, COAC's February 9, 2006 meeting was co-chaired by Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Deborah Spero, while previous meetings had been co-chaired by an assistant secretary of DHS. (Washington Trade Daily, dated 02/10/06, www.washingtontradedaily.com.)
In Ammex, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a Court of International Trade (CIT) ruling that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wrongly revoked permission for Ammex to sell fuel from its duty-free store (a Class 9 Customs bonded warehouse) at Ambassador Bridge, where all products are sold to be exported.
In the February 1, 2006 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 40, No. 6), CBP issued a notice revoking one classification ruling on a certain silk capelet. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions.
In Xerox Corporation v. U.S., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) ruled that the Court of International Trade (CIT) was correct in dismissing Xerox's protest of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) liquidation of 21 entries of electrostatic photocopiers and wire harnesses from Mexico, as Xerox did not timely file claims for NAFTA preferential treatment.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may soon implement "Phase 4", CBP's next step in enforcing mandatory advance electronic information requirements for truck carriers, as required by the Trade Act of 2002.
The Washington File reports that the U.S. and South Korea will open negotiations on a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) to remove tariff and nontariff barriers and expand trade between the countries. The talks are expected to begin in or around May 2006 after a consultation period. (Washington File Pub 02/03/06, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/Archive/2006/Feb/02-508129.html)
CBP has posted to its Web site a revised version of a document entitled: Operating Procedures for Trade Community Regarding Implementation of the Wood Packaging Materials (WPM) Regulation." (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/15/05 news 05091505 for BP summary of initial version.)
American Shipper reports that some in the import community are wondering if President Bush's pick of U.S. Secret Service Director W. Ralph Basham to be the agency's next commissioner will predispose the agency to place a higher priority on stricter security measures at the expense of the free flow of trade. (American Shipper, dated 01/31/06, www.americanshipper.com )