RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- CBP is working on a standardized process for customs brokers to vet their importer clients' powers of attorney, said Julia Peterson, chief of CBP's broker management branch, at the Western Cargo Conference (WESCCON) on Oct. 13. Every importer will be required to provide the same information, and every broker required to vet the same information, which should “level the playing field” and diminish or eliminate “broker shopping,” Peterson said.
CBP is investigating two California companies over allegations of antidumping duty evasion for diamond sawblades from China, the agency said in a Sept. 22 notice. The investigation stems from allegations filed under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) by the Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers Coalition (DSMC) regarding Power Tek Tool and Lyke Industrial Tool. "Because evidence establishes a reasonable suspicion that Power Tek and Lyke have entered merchandise into the United States through evasion, CBP has imposed interim measures against both importers," the agency said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 14-18 in case they were missed.
M&B Metals, which filed antidumping duty evasion allegations against Eastern Trading NY, is pleased with CBP's findings in the agency's final determination (see 1708170027), M&B President Milton Magnus said in an email. "CBP did an excellent job during the preliminary phase of the investigation, making on-site visits, and communicating with the importer," he said. "Then during the final stage, they did an outstanding job of connecting the dots, and tracing the shipments from China to Thailand and then to the US. I believe CBP has always been anxious to enforce our Dumping Order, but without the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA), there was not a process in which to work. EAPA is extremely important to ensure that our Dumping Orders are enforced; giving our company and our employees the relief we worked so hard to obtain." Magnus also praised the work of the company's lawyers in the case, Frederick Waite and Kimberly Young at Vorys.
CBP's Trade Remedy and Law Enforcement Directorate is investigating several new cases of alleged antidumping duty evasion under the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) evasion enforcement process (see 1608190014), CBP said in an Aug. 17 news release. The agency announced new investigations into possible evasion of AD duty orders on wooden bedroom furniture (WBF) and steel wire hangers. CBP also announced an investigation into alleged evasion of a diamond sawblades AD order. The Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers' Coalition, which filed the allegation, previously announced the investigation (see 1706280035).
CBP found Eastern Trading NY "engaged in evasion" of antidumping duties on steel wire garment hangers from China, the agency said its Aug. 14 final determination. The decision marks the first publicly released final determination resulting from an investigation under CBP's Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) evasion enforcement processes (see 1608190014). CBP announced late last year that it was investigating Eastern Trading NY following allegations submitted by M&B Metal, imposing cash deposit requirements after finding a "reasonable suspicion" of evasion (see 1612190004).
The Treasury Department published an updated 2017 regulatory agenda for CBP (here) that mentions several new rulemakings that weren't included in the last update (see 1611180003). The agenda includes a newly mentioned proposal for updates and modifications to the (a)(1)(A) list of records required for the entry of merchandise (here). That list is included within the appendix to 19 CFR Part 163 (here). CBP seeks to publish the proposal in October, according to the agenda.
Ohio's two senators are concerned that an existing CBP rule may interfere with attempts to halt customs duty evasion by foreign companies. Sens. Rob Portman, a Republican, and Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, told Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan that an agency interim final rule (from August 2016) to implement Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) provisions of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act will undermine CBP efforts to stop duty evasion, and recommended that the agency release a revised rule. Among the concerns detailed in a letter (here) to McAleenan were that the rule doesn’t establish an administrative protective order process for evasion cases, and that the rule limits authorized evasion proceedings to too narrow a group of stakeholders, or "parties to the investigation."
Diamond Tools Technology is being investigated by CBP over allegations that the company evaded antidumping duties on diamond sawblades from China, the Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers' Coalition said (here). The DSMC and its law firm Wiley Rein filed the allegations under CBP's new evasion enforcement processes (see 1608190014), and CBP began a preliminary investigation in March, the DSMC said. "Following its preliminary investigation, which included a site visit, there is a 'reasonable suspicion' that DTT imported into the United States merchandise subject to the AD order on diamond sawblades from China through evasion," said the trade group, which is made up of U.S. manufacturers. "As a result, CBP has determined that interim measures are warranted."