U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated its set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') new wood packaging material (WPM) regulations that take effect September 16, 2005.
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.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has posted to its Web site a notice announcing its three-phase enforcement of the new wood packaging material (WPM) regulations which take effect September 16, 2005.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has information posted on various countries' implementation and enforcement of ISPM 15 treatment and marking requirements for wood packaging material (WPM).
In the August 31, 2005 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 39, No. 36), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to modify a classification ruling on certain gloves with coated overlays, and (b) modifying a classification ruling on certain rayon filament yarn. CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke, or is revoking, any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
In the August 24, 2005 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 39, No. 35), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to revoke a classification ruling with respect to Yttria C, and (b) proposing to revoke a classification with respect to a white sauce/dairy spread. CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in the proposed revocation notices.
The Journal of Commerce reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection will soon announce in the Federal Register that it is eliminating the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) requirement that importer accounts have bond riders and make periodic duty payments, thus opening ACE up to nearly all comers. (JoC, dated 08/29/05, www.joc.com )
U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) Office of Information and Technology has posted a notice to its Web site containing (a) a list, updated as of September 1, 2005, of companies/persons offering Sea Automated Manifest System (AMS) data processing services to the trade community, and (b) the Sea AMS Respondent Checklist, as follows:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated its set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') new wood packaging material (WPM) regulations that take effect September 16, 2005.
In the August 24, 2005 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBPBulletin) (Vol. 39, No. 35), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to revoke two classification rulings on certain three-layer fabric and garments with activated carbon particles in one layer, and (b) announcing its grant of "Lever-Rule" protection for certain fax toner cartridges. CBP states that it is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in the proposed revocation notice.
American Shipper reports that the U.S. Coast Guard has opened the lower Mississippi River to ships with a draft of 35 feet in daylight hours, allowing access to the Port of New Orleans. The article quotes Port of New Orleans officials as stating that the Port of New Orleans' riverfront terminals survived Hurricane Katrina in fairly decent shape - damaged, but still workable once electrical power and manpower is available. Officials further stated that for the next several weeks the port will be "dedicated to military relief vessels." (Shippers NewsWire, dated 09/06/05, www.americanshipper.com.)