With major changes ahead for CBP’s national permitting scheme, licensed customs brokers are increasingly concerned with the prospects for the profession, said several brokers in interviews. The expansion of remote location filing on national permits to all entry types and government agencies, set to occur by the end of 2016 alongside full implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, could allow brokerages to employ a single licensed individual to qualify all of their customs business. Brokers have been active in voicing concerns that such an outcome could undermine compliance and make customs brokering a less attractive profession, but have yet to find a solution acceptable to CBP.
The two-year period during which CBP establishes "treatment" that may only be revoked through a notice in the Customs Bulletin runs up to the date of the entry identified in a protest, said the Court of International Trade in a decision issued Oct. 21 (here). Though CBP argued the two-year period runs to the date of the protest itself, CIT ruled the agency’s interpretation would frustrate the intent of the requirement because the two-year period would mostly cover CBP’s modified treatment.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Oct. 12-18:
Some industry and policy groups urged the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) to limit the International Trade Commission's (ITC) attempt to regulate information transmitted over the Internet, said comments on the development of IPEC's Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property. IPEC requested public comments on its Joint Strategic Plan during a period that ended Friday, and received 65 submissions.
Some industry and policy groups urged the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) to limit the International Trade Commission's (ITC) attempt to regulate information transmitted over the Internet, said comments on the development of IPEC's Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property. IPEC requested public comments on its Joint Strategic Plan during a period that ended Friday, and received 65 submissions.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 13-16 in case they were missed.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Oct. 5-11:
Lumber Liquidators agreed to pay $10 million to settle criminal customs and Lacey Act charges related to flooring it imported from China that was made from illegally harvested wood, said the company in an Oct. 7 press release (here). The settlement marks the culmination of a long-running federal investigation of Lumber Liquidators for Lacey Act violations that included a raid on company headquarters in 2013 (see 13092716), though it does not resolve claims that the company’s wood flooring has elevated formaldehyde content (see 13120432 and 1503260020), said the release.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Sept. 28 - Oct. 4:
Even as both houses of Congress paved the way Wednesday for short-term government funding, federal agencies' contingency planning in case of another shutdown continued. The release of all agencies' shutdown contingency plans highlights the possible effects of a shutdown if a similar resolution fails to pass in December, observers told us. Industry and agency officials previously told us the FCC has restructured its budget, so there will be funding to allow portions of its website to remain online during a shutdown (see 1509250054). One change from the 2013 shutdown is that many agencies' websites will remain online, we found.