Drawback

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 13-19:

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of April 15-21:

The National Association of Manufacturers lawsuit against CBP and the Department of the Treasury over limits to drawback for goods subject to excise taxes seems to have a "good likelihood of success," law firm Neville Peterson said in an April 19 blog post. Specifically, NAM has a good argument that CBP's change for excise tax drawback "conflicts directly with the language of Section 313 of the Tariff Act, as amended by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA)," the law firm said. "On this point, NAM would seem to have a clear path to victory." That's because "Treasury’s proposal to limit [federal excise taxes (FET)] was first proposed as a change of practice in 2007, when the prior version of the drawback statute was in effect, and withdrawn in 2009," Neville Peterson said. "As amended by TFTEA, however, the drawback statute clearly forecloses the government’s position, since it indicates that the amount of FET drawback to be paid is that which 'would have been charged had the exported merchandise been imported.'”

CBP's rule that ended the use of some drawback for goods subject to excise tax was unsupported by the economic analysis and the intent of Congress, the National Association of Manufacturers said in its legal challenge to the drawback changes. NAM, represented by Sidley Austin and Hogan Lovells, told the Court of International Trade that the rules should be vacated and "permanently enjoin the enforcement of the Rule to the extent that it purports to limit drawback granted on the export or destruction of substituted merchandise to the amount of taxes paid," it said. A legal challenge to the rules was widely anticipated (see 1812190011).

The National Association of Manufacturers filed a lawsuit with the Court of International Trade over new regulations that prevent drawback for goods subject to excise taxes. Among other arguments in the April 17 filing, the association said the drawback changes related to excise taxes, which were implemented as part of a general overhaul of drawback under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, go against the expressed aim of lawmakers. The court should vacate the rule's excise tax drawback provisions, said NAM.

SAN ANTONIO -- CBP is hoping to publish a rule on the testing of the new Entry Type 86 for low value shipments in the fall, said Thomas Overacker, CBP executive director, Cargo and Conveyance Security, on April 17 at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. The Entry Type 86 is meant as a means to provide information to the Partner Government Agencies on goods that are eligible for the Section 321 exemptions. "This data will also give us an opportunity for great risk segmentation," he said.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A lawsuit challenging the new CBP drawback regulations that limit drawback on goods subject to excise taxes (see 1812190011) is expected soon, Sandler Travis lawyer Michael Cerny said on a panel at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference on April 16. CBP is saying "the export of excise-tax-free goods is considered a drawback, therefore you can't get a second drawback of that through substitution," Cerny said. "This is going to be challenged," and he said he expects a lawsuit within "the next few weeks." The excise tax changes became effective on Feb. 19, 2019.