ATLANTA -- Customs proposals put forth by Mexico during the NAFTA renegotiation include language covering joint cargo processing along the U.S.’s southern border and manifest harmonization, Jose Garcia, representative for taxation and customs affairs at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, said Dec. 5, during the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium. “These are new ideas Mexico has put on the table,” Garcia said.
Customs Duty
A Customs Duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs Duty Rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight.
In the Nov. 29 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 51, No. 48), CBP published notices that propose to revoke rulings and similar treatment for automotive bumpers and decorative quartz rocks.
PMP Fermentation Products recently filed a petition with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on sodium gluconate, gluconic acid and derivative products from France and China, and countervailing duties on the same products from China. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations on sodium gluconate products from these countries. The powdered, water-soluble chemical is used in a wide variety of industries, including as a cleaning agent for glassware, a variety of functions in mixing concrete, in the food industry and in household products.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 27 - Dec. 1 in case they were missed.
UPS acquired Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services (STTAS) on Nov. 30, UPS said in a Dec. 4 news release. STTAS, the consulting and trade compliance arm of the Sandler Travis law and lobbying firm, "will continue to provide its same services, from the same offices with use of the same personnel," STTAS said in a news release. It will also "continue to serve as a resource" for Sandler Travis "on joint client issues as it has in the past." Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Disagreement on de minimis thresholds is the one obstacle to closing an updated NAFTA customs chapter, an area where talks have progressed significantly during the ongoing renegotiation of the pact, according to three sources with knowledge of discussions. Advancement on the de minimis issue principally depends on Canada’s level of willingness to increase its $15 (USD) threshold, after Canadian negotiators declined to engage on the issue following contentious U.S. proposals pitched during the fourth negotiating round in Arlington, Virginia, two of the sources said.
The Commerce Department issued notice in the Federal Register on its recently initiated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations on common alloy aluminum sheet from China (A-570-073/C-570-074). The CV duty investigation covers entries Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016. The AD duty investigation covers entries April 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2017. The self-initiated investigation is the first in over 25 years that Commerce has begun on its own behalf, without any petition for AD/CV duties from U.S. domestic producers (see 1711290033).
Claims of stolen identity used on entry documents for goods subject to antidumping duties were not enough to limit liability on such duties for a named importer of record, CBP said in an Aug. 14 ruling. The lack of a proper Power of Attorney for the involved customs broker also does not change liability for the duties, CBP said in HQ H271023. The listed IOR, Green Island Import Export USA, told CBP it did not authorize imports of polyethylene retail carrier bags after it received a bill for unpaid duties.
CBP released the Nov. 29 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 51, No. 48), which contains the following ruling actions:
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: