Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report

With a limited number of importers expected to avail themselves of the Importer Self-Assessment and Trusted Trader programs, BKIP offers a way for CBP to use the importer-broker relationship to further identify reputable importers and thus narrow the field of actors on which it focuses its enforcement resources.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that the following new capabilities in the Automated Commercial Environment became available to trade community users on Aug. 8.

The U.S. and Mexico are taking a number of steps to increase the global competitiveness of North America, including by modernizing their shared border and improving regulatory cooperation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a final rule that, effective Aug. 7, removes some of the requirements for documentation used to establish proof of exportation for drawback claims. This rule also amends CBP’s regulations to reflect that there is no longer a legal requirement that the export invoice for mail shipments be certified.

Two more federal agencies have announced plans to conduct pilot tests of the International Trade Data System involving the electronic submission of data on imported goods they regulate using the partner government agency message set component of the Automated Commercial Environment.

Negotiators were unable to conclude a free trade agreement among a dozen Asia-Pacific countries last week due to continued disagreements on a handful of tough issues. Talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership could resume by the end of August as participants seek to finalize a deal ahead of election cycles in key countries that could delay further progress.

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero recently questioned the continued need for a fee that has been imposed on cargo containers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for the past ten years and called for an assessment of specific issues concerning this fee.

U.S. automakers, many of their suppliers all the way down the supply chain and others could be hit with enormous new costs on a vital production component if a trade remedy case filed by domestic steel producers this week is successful. Companies that import the affected goods directly, as well as those who purchase them from third-party importers, could see prices rise by double or more.

The European Commission has adopted a legal act to create a simpler, more modern and integrated EU customs system to support cross-border trade and provide for more EU-wide cooperation in customs matters.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has announced that no sooner than Aug. 19 it will begin participating in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s pilot test of the International Trade Data System for processing import-related forms and data using the partner government agency message set and the Automated Commercial Environment.

Mexico’s standards agency (Dirección General de Normas (DGN)) has published a notice inviting interested parties to comment by Aug. 29 on a proposed modification to textile labeling standard NMX-A-240-INNTEX-2009, which covers the use of graphics/symbols in care labels.

Members of the Senate acted recently to prevent Canada and Mexico from imposing billions of dollars in sanctions against U.S. exports after the World Trade Organization again ruled against U.S. rules for mandatory country of origin labeling for meat products.

Fifty-four WTO members reached a long-awaited agreement on July 24 to expand the Information Technology Agreement to provide duty-free treatment to over 200 additional tariff provisions and products. According to WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, annual trade in the products that will be added to the ITA is valued at over $1.3 trillion and accounts for about seven percent of global trade, an amount larger than global trade in automotive products or trade in textiles, apparel, iron and steel combined.