U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued its instructions for claiming the new benefits available under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Acceleration Act of 2004 (Public Law (P.L.) 108-274), for eligible textiles and apparel entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 13, 2004.
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.
According to The Journal of Commerce Online, the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach will delay its implementation of the nation's first-ever charge ($20 per TEU) for moving containers during daytime hours to a date in the first quarter of 2005 (rather than November 1, 2004 as originally planned). The article states that the delay is needed due to a shortage of longshore labor and delays in setting up collections by PierPass, the organization established by terminal operators to manage the program. (Joc Online, dated 09/22/04, www.joc.com )
On July 16, 2004, the Senate passed S. 2261, the "Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act of 2004," by unanimous consent.
The Washington File has reported that the U.S. intends to rejoin the International Coffee Organization (ICO) after an 11-year break. According to the Washington File, the U.S. decision to rejoin the ICO was motivated by ICO reforms establishing a more market- and development-based approach, as well as by the difficulties plaguing many coffee producers as a result of plummeting prices. (Washington File Pub 09/15/04, available at http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2004&m=September&x=20040915175646SAikceinawz8.323133e-03&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and responses regarding the mandatory advance electronic information requirements for truck carriers.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and responses regarding the mandatory advance electronic information requirements for truck carriers.
After adopting numerous amendments, on September 14, 2004 the Senate passed its version of H.R. 4567, the fiscal year (FY) 2005 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/08/04 news, 04070810, for BP summary of the June 18, 2004 passage by the House of Representatives of its own version of H.R. 4567.) (Congressional Record dated 09/14/04, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/r108/r108d14se4.html.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice reminding filers about the correct use of the special value fields for antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duty entries.
In the September 8, 2004 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (CBP Bulletin) (Vol. 38, No. 37), CBP issued notices: (a) proposing to revoke a classification ruling on certain DVDs, and (b) revoking a classification ruling on certain nonwoven man-made material for use in blood filtration. 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.
Carriers