On February 15, 2005, Judge Michael Chertoff was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after being confirmed by the Senate. Chertoff formerly served as U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. (DHS press release available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/biography/biography_0116.xml.
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 February 9 and 16, 2005 issues of the U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionBulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 39, No. 7 and 8), CBP issued notices: (a) detailing the dates and draft agenda for the 35th Session of the Harmonized System Committee (HSC), and (b) modifying two classification rulings on prepared slides. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in the notice on prepared slides.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has presented its final version of is new Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) security standards for importers to the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection and Related Functions (COAC). During the February 15, 2005 COAC meeting, CBP officials noted that they will also be issuing frequently asked questions (FAQs) and responses regarding the revised C-TPAT security standards. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/13/05 news, 05011305, for BP summary of Draft 3 of CBP's new C-TPAT security standards for importers.)
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 February 8, 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:
During its recent Trade Symposium, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) held a panel discussion on the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and the International Trade Data System (ITDS).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice regarding certain amendments made by the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 (MTA) to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), the Trade Act of 2002, and the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004 (AGOA III) which allow eligible entries to receive retroactive AGOA or CBTPA duty-free1 benefits if requests for liquidation or reliquidation are made at the port of entry by close of business on March 3, 2005.
In the February 2, 2005 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 39, No. 6), CBP issued notices: (a) modifying a classification ruling on a "Safe Start IV Start Pak," and (b) modifying a classification ruling on certain boys' athletic-type footwear. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in these notices.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has revised its Informed Compliance Publication (ICP) entitled "Customs Brokers" as part of its series "What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued messages on a number of antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty actions, many of which (marked by an * in the action column) were previously published in the Federal Register by the International Trade Administration (ITA) and summarized in International Trade Today.
The Journal of Commerce Online (JoC Online) reports that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary-designate Michael Chertoff testified before a Senate committee on February 2, 2005 and opined that the port security grant program should be re-focused to address threats of WMDs being transported in sea containers. Chertoff also noted, among other things, that he would review DHS' overall structure and clarify the roles of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). (JoC Online Pub 02/03/05, www.joc.com)