CBP has added more parties to the list of those qualified to handle the payment of duties on international mail shipments, according to a recent cargo systems message. These parties pay duties on behalf of an international mail carrier or qualified party acting in lieu of the carrier (see 2508260026). Duties collection on all international mail shipments began following the end of the de minimis exemption on Aug. 29, under a July 30 executive order.
CBP posted the following documents for the September 17 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee is urging CBP to provide dates when posting information on the implementation of tariff and other trade-related policies, according to a list of recommendations that the committee provided to CBP ahead of the Sept. 17 quarterly meeting.
The Commerce Department has published the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on certain preserved mushrooms from the Netherlands (A-421-815). The agency preliminarily calculated a 0.44% AD rate for the only company under review, Okechamp B.V. That is de minimis, and effectively a zero percent AD rate. Any changes to cash deposit rates for Okechamp would take effect on the publication date of the final results of this review, currently due in January. If this rate is confirmed in the final results, Commerce wouldn't assess AD for subject merchandise from Okechamp entered Nov. 3, 2022, through April 30, 2024.
The Commerce Department has published the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on silicomanganese from India (A-533-823). The agency preliminarily found the only company under review -- Maithan Alloys Limited -- had an AD rate of de minimis, or zero percent. If Commerce's finding for Maithan is continued in the final results, its AD cash deposit rate will be zero percent, effective on the date Commerce's final results are published in the Federal Register. The agency wouldn't assess AD for entries of subject merchandise from Malthan entered May 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024, it said.
The Universal Postal Union, an organization that helps to coordinate postal services around the world, says it has developed some workarounds for international mail carriers that will be held liable for U.S. customs duties now that the de minimis exemption no longer is in place.
Small shippers will "get hosed" by the end of the de minimis policy, while larger companies will find ways to manage, trade experts said on a podcast hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
CBP began developing a system to automate duty and fee calculations for global mail entries in May, but the target deployment date for the functionality is still to be determined, according to the agency's ACE Development and Deployment Schedule for August.
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Australian small businesses were given too little time to comply with the U.S. decision to end the de minimis exemption for low-value imports (see 2508280062), said Don Farrell, Australia’s trade minister. Farrell said he raised Australia’s "disappointment" earlier in the week with U.S. Trade Representative General Counsel Jennifer Thornton, adding that the move is mostly hurting “mum and dad operations that have had a successful product going into” the U.S.