The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has issued a final rule to add a new Subpart A to 7 CFR Part 1206 in order to establish the Mango Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order). AMS states that the purpose of this program is to maintain, expand, and develop domestic markets for fresh mangoes.
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 a set of amendments (dated September 20, 2004) to the January 29, 2004 version of its instructions on the filing and substantiating of claims for preferential tariff treatment made under the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (UCFTA or CFTA).
On June 17, 2004, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act, legislation that would, among other things, repeal the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act (FSC/ETI) tax regime, extend the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) and other user fees, etc.. The Senate passed its own version of this legislation, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act (S. 1637), on May 11, 2004.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Treasury Department have issued a final rule, effective November 8, 2004, to amend 19 CFR Part 191 to indicate that merchandise processing fees (MPFs) are eligible to be claimed, in limited circumstances, as drawback based on substitution of finished petroleum derivatives (SFPD) under 19 USC 1313(p).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has issued an interim final rule (see below for effective dates) in order to add a new Part 60 to 7 CFR to provide for a mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program for farm-raised and wild fish and shellfish (fish and shellfish covered commodities) at retail.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a revised version of its frequently asked questions (FAQ) and responses (dated October 5, 2004) on the "Rail" portion of its final rule on the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (ocean, air, rail, and truck) prior to it being brought into, or sent from, the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a set of amendments (dated September 16, 2004) to the January 30, 2004 version of its instructions on the filing and substantiation of claims for preferential tariff treatment made under the U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA, or SGFTA).
In the September 29, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 40), CBP issued notices: (a) modifying a classification ruling on certain hospital garments/patient pajamas, and (b) modifying a classification ruling on non-electric, metal bicycle bells. 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.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has issued an interim final rule (see below for effective dates) in order to add a new Part 60 to 7 CFR to provide for a mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) program for farm-raised and wild fish and shellfish (fish and shellfish covered commodities).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a proposed rule to amend its regulations at 19 CFR Part 133 in order to better facilitate the copyright recordation process with CBP for certain protected copyrighted works, and to strengthen the enforcement procedures to protect those rights.