CBP Clarifies Informal Bond Requirements

On January 24, 2012, CBP posted Administrative Message12-000019 to clarify bond requirements for informal entries. Informal entries submitted as “live” entries with a CBP 7501 and duties, taxes and fees prior to release do not generally require a bond.   

Informal entries released under the CBP3461 immediate delivery/entry process where the entry summary is filed within 10 days after the release require a continuous or single transaction bond.  Duties on informal entries filed using the CBP3461 must be paid via ACH statement process.

Tick Tock – Your Triennial Status Report Is Due

In accordance with the provisions of 19 CFR 111.30(d), every licensed broker must file a status report and pay the required fee every three years.  The reports and a check or money order payable to U.S. Customs for $100 must be submitted by February 29, 2012.   Licenses for which no report was filed will be suspended by operation of law on March 1.   Brokers are required to submit the report and fee to the port that originally delivered the license to the broker.  Failure to submit the information to the correct port may result in the report being returned or denied. Although there is no required format for the report, CBP provides a template for the report and some FAQs on their website.

CBP Posts HTS Numbers Potentially Subject to Softwood Lumber Act 2008

The Softwood Lumber Act of 2008 (SLA 2008) affects importations of certain softwood lumber and softwood lumber products imported into the U.S. from all countries. The SLA 2008 requires importers of the covered lumber products to provide on three additional data elements on the entry summary. The three data elements are:

• the export price
• the estimated export charge, if any
• an importer declaration

CBP published a list of HTS numbers to assist the trade community in identifying goods potentially subject to the Act.   Please note that the tariff numbers are not the only tools necessary to determine if goods are subject to the Act.  Importers should consult the SLA 2008 Section 804(a) and 804(b) for products included and excluded by the Act. 

Click HERE to view the HTS numbers.

Click HERE to view SLA 2008 as found in 19 CFR 12.142.

2012 HTS Update

The USITC published a preliminary version of the 2012 Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the U.S.; however, the preliminary version does not include the WCO amendments and will not be printed.  On December 29, 2011, President Obama signed a Proclamation modifying the HTS to incorporate the WCO changes. Since the amendments will not be effective until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, the earliest effective date would have been February 1, 2012, if the Proclamation had been published on January 3, 2012.  As of January 1, 2012, the Proclamation does not appear in the online version of the Federal Register, so expect to see an effective date sometime after February 1, 2102.

Click HERE to view the preliminary version of the 2012 HTS.

CBP Commissioner Musical Chairs

Although President Obama appointed Alan Bersin as the CBP Commissioner in 2009, the Senate never confirmed the appointment.  With his term set to end on December 31, 2011, Bersin announced that he would leave his post at the end of the term.  However, Bersin wasn't unemployed long, as President Obama appointed Bersin to a newly created position as Assistant Secretary of International Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.  David Aguilar now serves as the Acting Commissioner. As an appointed position, we'll have to wait until after the elections for a new Commissioner, so Aguilar is likely to be with us until sometime in early 2013.

How many actual and acting CBP Commissioners have we seen since 2001?

Date	Name
9/2001 - 11/2005	Robert Bonner
11/2005 - 6/2006	Deborah J.  Spero (Acting)
6/2006 - 2/2009	W. Ralph Basham
2009	Jayson Ahern (Acting)
3/2010 - 12/2011	Alan D. Bersin
12/2011 - Present	David Aguilar (Acting)

If you don't like today's weather (Commissioner), stick around.  It will change tomorrow."

China Imposes Dumping Duties on U.S. Vehicles

In September 2011, the World Trade Organization rejected China's appeal of a previous WTO ruling that approved the imposition of additional duties on imports of Chinese tires into the United States.  In what appears to be a retaliatory "tit-for-tat" move China announced plans to impose dumping duties on certain vehicles imported from the U.S.

The current tariff rates for cars imported to China is 25 percent.  The punitive duties will apply to vehicles with engines exceeding 2.5 liters.  Initial reports indicate that General Motors can expect to be hit the hardest with punitive duties up to 12.9 percent while BMW may not feel as much pain with additional duties of 2 percent. 

Stay tuned as the battle of tires versus vehicles continues.