The National Marine Fisheries Service still expects Jan. 1 to be the start date for the agency requiring certifications of admissibility (COA) from companies importing fish and fish products from certain countries that may have U.S.-imposed import restrictions, officials said on a Dec. 16 webinar on the issue.
The International Trade Commission is accepting proposals for changes to the World Customs Organization’s Harmonized System tariff schedule for potential adoption in 2033, it said in a notice. The proposals will be reviewed by the ITC, CBP and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and will be "made a part of the Commission’s record keeping system and available for public inspection." Proposals are due to the ITC by Oct. 1, 2027.
CBP has released its Nov. 26 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 41), which includes the following ruling action:
In the Nov. 26 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 59, No. 41), CBP published proposals to modify or revoke ruling letters concerning whether certain ramps are eligible for subheading 9817.00.96 treatment as articles for the handicapped.
CBP has corrected a single reference in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule reporting instructions for reciprocal tariffs applicable to products from South Korea, which originally were published Dec. 3 via a cargo systems message (see 2512030042). The HTS number to be reported in for goods with an MFN or Korea free trade agreement rate of less than 15% should be 9903.02.80, CBP said.
CBP has started developing a functionality in ACE that the agency says will improve CBP's ability to collect penalty payments assessed to parties that fail to meet in-bond shipment requirements, according to the December ACE Development and Deployment Schedule (see "December 2025 Changes" list on the last two pages).
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer signaled that the Trump administration is preparing a broad overhaul of key parts of the USMCA, focusing on changing non-automobile rules of origin to incentivize U.S. production.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 37-3 to recommend a renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act through the end of 2028, with retroactive benefits since the program expired Sept. 30 (see 2512090051). Requests for liquidation or reliquidation would have to be filed within 180 days of enactment of the law, and CBP would have to pay within 90 days. No interest would be offered on the tariff refunds.
CBP improperly denied importer Software Brokers of America, doing business as Intcomex, the temporary exclusion from International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs on China for in-transit merchandise, the importer argued in a Dec. 5 complaint at the Court of International Trade (Software Brokers of America d/b/a Intcomex v. United States, CIT # 25-00381).
CBP on Dec. 4 created Harmonized System Update 2542 containing 40 Automated Broker Interface records and 13 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2542 contains the updates pursuant to the United States-Korea Strategic Trade and Investment Deal; the updates pursuant to the Section 301 product exclusion extensions notice; and an HTS flagging change in support of the partner government agency message set: the FDA tariff flag FD2 was changed to FD1 for HTS 2941.10.2000 Penicillin G salts.