The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has approved up to $44.2 million in Port funding toward the 2009 Clean Truck Incentive Program at the Port of Los Angeles. The funds will be used to offer concessionaires in the Port of Los Angeles Clean Truck Program (CTP) incentives of up to $80,000 for each Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) truck they purchase. Port terminal operators or concessionaires can also receive up to 80 percent of negotiated cost for each electric truck they purchase for terminal or drayage truck use. (News release, dated 05/08/09, available at http://www.portoflosangeles.org/newsroom/2009_releases/news_050809_lng.asp)
Licensed Customs Broker
Customs brokers are entities who assist importers in meeting federal requirements governing imports into the United States. Brokers can be private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Customs brokers oversee transactions related to customs entry and admissibility of merchandise, product classification, customs valuation, payment of duties, taxes, or other charges such as refunds, rebates, and duty drawbacks. To obtain a customs broker license, an individual must pass the U.S. Customs Broker License Exam. Customs brokers are not government employees and should not be confused with CBP officials. There are approximately 11,000 active licensed customs brokers in the United States.
The Court of International Trade is currently considering the case of Lizarraga Customs Broker v. Bureau of CBP et al. regarding U.S. Customs and Border Protection's deactivation of the entry filer code of a customs broker who, according to CBP, sold the use of his code to unauthorized third parties and repeatedly misused it in other ways.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a revised version of its informed compliance publication entitled, What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Internal Combustion Piston Engines.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message regarding the computer changes necessary for the implementation of the Food and Drug Administration's May 6, 2009 final rule on prior notice (PN) of food (including animal feed), which is imported or offered for import into the U.S.
The Government Accountability Office has issued a report and agency comments on its review and oral briefing for the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on the Department of Homeland Security's fiscal year 2009 expenditure plan for the Secure Border Initiative (SBI). Approval of SBI's expenditure plan by these committees was required before DHS could obligate $400 million of the approximately $775 million appropriated for U.S. Customs and Border Protection fencing, infrastructure, and technology. (GAO report summary, dated 04/30/09, available at http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-274R)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a Broker Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot Program (BSA pilot program) quick reference guide.
CBP has posted a notice on the Broker Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot (BSA pilot program) that it recently announced it would be launching. (See ITT's Online Archives or 04/27/09 news, 09042710, for BP summary announcing that CBP is seeking applicants for the BSA pilot.) (Notice, dated 04/27/09, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/bsa/bsa_pilot.xml)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a general notice seeking volunteers for the Broker Self-Assessment Outreach Pilot (BSA pilot program, also referred to as the Broker Compliance Management program).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a revised version of its informed compliance publication entitled, What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: Vehicles, Parts and Accessories Under the HTSUS.
The European Commission recently adopted a regulation which sets a transitional period from July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010 during which traders will have the option of submitting electronic entry or exit summary declarations on goods before they enter or leave the European Union. Unanticipated delays have occurred in the implementation process of electronic entry or exit summary declarations so that not all actors will be in a position to submit those declarations by July 1, 2009. During the transitional period, goods not declared in advance will be submitted to risk analysis after arrival or before departure of those goods. The regulation can be found here and here. (Press release, dated 04/02/09, available at http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEX/09/0402&format=HTML&aged=0&language=en&guiLanguage=en)