On October 8, 2004, the House of Representatives passed the conference version of H.R. 1047, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004. According to Congressional sources, the Senate is expected to consider the conference version of H.R. 1047 in mid-November 2004, when it returns after the election.
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 August 25, 2004, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a ruling in Intercontinental Marble Corporation v. U.S. affirming an earlier Court of International Trade (CIT) decision that "all stones that polish" are classifiable as marble. Like the CIT, the CAFC rejected Customs' arguments that marble should be defined by its geological definition rather than its commercial meaning.
In the October 27, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 44), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to change the way it classifies certain homeopathic products, which would result in the revocation of two classification rulings, and (b) revoking a classification ruling on an air blow gun kit. CBP states that it is also revoking, or proposing to revoke, 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 issued two ABI administrative messages announcing that its most recent Harmonized System (HS) updates contain:
The Journal of Commerce Online reports that non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) will be able to enter into confidential contracts with customers under new rules that the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) proposed on October 27, 2004. The proposal is in response to eight petitioners' seeking relief from the restrictions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) that reserve service contracts for vessel operators and require NVOCCs to maintain tariffs with the FMC. (See ITT's Online Archives or 10/18/04 news, 04101810, for BP summary on the announcement of the FMC's October 27, 2004 meeting.)(JoC Online dated 10/27/04, www.joc.com.)
In the October 20, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 43), CBP issued a notice revoking a ruling regarding the country of origin marking for flat flexible magnets. CBP states that it is also revoking any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions that are contrary to its position in this notice.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a document containing information on the Pre-Arrival Processing System (PAPS) for inbound trucks to its Web page on the Trade Act of 2002 - Advance Electronic Information.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an ABI administrative message stating that the ACS System has been programmed to accept organic products exemption claims effective October 20, 2004.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued an ABI administrative message stating that it will make future changes to the Automated Commercial System (ACS) to automate the reporting of diamond certificate numbers (aka 'Kimberly Process certificate' numbers) for certain diamond tariff numbers.
On October 18, 2004, President Bush signed into law the conference version of H.R. 4567, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2005 (Public Law (P.L.) 108-334).