C-AIR TIMES ISSUE #387 - Thursday, September 03, 2015 09:03

ACE: Updated Timeline for Mandatory Transition to ACE for Electronic Entry and Summary Filing
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/ace-updated-timeline-mandatory-transition-ace-electronic-entry-and-summary-filing

As announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Trade Relations, over the past several months CBP has worked closely with partner government agencies (PGAs), the White House, and trade stakeholders to deploy key functions of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and meet major milestones set forth by the Presidential Executive Order 13659, Streamlining the Export/Import Process for America’s Businesses.

While significant capabilities have been deployed, concerns of stakeholder readiness have necessitated a reassessment of our current timelines.  Department-level Deputy Secretaries have collectively decided to allow additional time for testing and transition to ACE for entry and entry summary filing.  November 1^st begins a transition period for electronic entry and entry summary filings in ACE.

November 1, 2015

·        Use of ACE is allowed and encouraged for electronic entry and corresponding entry summary filings for entry types 01, 11, 03, 51, and 52 with PGA data.

February 28, 2016

·        ACE must be used and ACS will no longer be available for filing of all electronic entries and associated entry summaries. In addition, electronic FDA, NHTSA, APHIS (Lacey) data must be filed in ACE and ACS will no longer be available.

July 2016

·        Upon publication of the Final Rule, ACE must be used for filing AMS, APHIS Core, ATF, CDC, DCMA, DDTC, DEA E&C, EPA, FSIS, FWS*, NMFS and TTB data.

·        Hybrid submissions will no longer be allowed.

·        This requirement for FWS is contingent on FWS having its regulatory revisions in place by the July 2016 publication of the CBP Final Rule eliminating hybrid filings.

To facilitate this development, CBP has worked to update key documentation in support of PGA and trade partners.  The following resources are available with more information on the mandatory dates:

·        Mandatory Dates Page – Outlines details on new dates, and has links to associated technical references.

·        ACE PGA Forms List – Realigns agency forms requirements based on new dates.

·        PGA FAQs - Updated Q&As on integration of PGAs into ACE.

If you have any questions on the updates above, please send an e-mail to Ask ACE.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) today released a public version of its confidential report on possible modifications to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

The investigation, Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2014 Review, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, submitted a confidential version of the report to the USTR on August 21, 2015. The USTR requested that the USITC issue a public version of the report containing only the unclassified sections, with any business confidential information deleted.

The investigation provides advice on the likely impact on competing U.S. industries of competitive need limitation waivers specified in section 503(c)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 for two Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings for Thailand. "Competitive need limits" represent the maximum import level of a product that is eligible for duty-free treatment under the GSP. Once the limit is reached, trade is considered "competitive," benefits are no longer needed, and imports of the article become ineligible for GSP treatment, unless a waiver is granted.

The HTS subheadings being considered for competitive need limitation waivers are:  2008.19.15 (prepared or preserved coconut) from Thailand and 7408.29.10 (copper wire alloys, wire, coated or plated with metal) from Thailand. The USITC also provided advice with respect to whether like or directly competitive products were being produced in the United States on January 1, 1995, and the probable economic effect on total U.S. imports, as well as on consumers, of the requested waivers.  The USITC provided the requested data separately and individually for each U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading subject to this request.

The USITC also provided data on the addition of five HTS subheadings for least-developed developing beneficiary countries (LDDBC); the data included U.S. production, imports, exports, and consumption figures for five cotton articles for the period 2012-2014.

The HTS subheadings being considered are:  5201.00.18 (cotton, not carded or combed, having a staple length under 28.575 mm (1-1/8 inches), n/harsh or rough, nesoi); 5201.00.28 (cotton not carded or combed, harsh or rough, staple length of 29.36875 mm or more but under 34.925 mm & white in color, nesoi); 5201.00.38 (cotton, not carded or combed, staple length of 28.575 mm or more but under 34.925 mm, nesoi); 5202.99.30 (cotton card strips made from cotton waste.

having staple length under 30.1625 mm & lap, sliver & roving waste, nesoi); and 5203.00.30 (cotton fibers, carded or combed, of cotton fiber processed, but not spun, nesoi).

Generalized System of Preferences: Possible Modifications, 2014 Review (Investigation No. 332-554, USITC publication 4562, August 2015) is available on the USITC's Internet site at http://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub4562.pdf.

USITC general fact finding investigations cover matters related to tariffs or trade. The investigations are generally conducted at the request of USTR, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general fact finding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General fact finding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public, unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.

LONG BEACH, Calif., August 27, 2015 – In the latest in a series of measures to combat congestion, PierPass Inc. today announced that 10 of its member container terminals have agreed on a coordinated initiative to establish appointment systems for trucks delivering containers to and from the terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The terminals have adopted an appointment system action plan and committed to a set of common requirements. The five terminals that currently operate appointment systems have agreed to adopt these requirements, and five more terminals plan to introduce appointment systems in 2016 that will follow the same guidelines.

All the terminals have agreed that their individual appointment systems will share these rules in common:

1.     Appointments will be mandatory at all participating terminals. At times, appointments have been treated as optional, which has reduced the intended benefit of smoothing out truck traffic flow.
 

2.     The appointment systems will apply to import containers at all terminals. Appointments for exports are being evaluated as a potential future requirement.
 

3.     All individual terminal appointment systems will be accessible via links from PierPass’ websites.

“The increasing number of containers unloaded by larger new ships has put the traditional random-access system – where any truck can arrive at any time to pick up any container – under strain,” said John Cushing, president of PierPass, a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, air quality and security. “Appointment systems are part of the growing set of tools terminals are embracing to fight congestion and reduce turn times, alongside innovations including free flow and the OffPeak program of night and Saturday truck gates.”

“Since we updated our appointment system in 2014, we have seen a marked decline in queuing at our gates and better turn times for our truckers,” said Mark Wheeler, vice president and general manager at West Basin Container Terminal (WBCT) in Los Angeles.

For truck drivers, trucking companies and cargo owners, the appointment systems will add predictability to the supply chain. The variable queue lengths at different times of the day will be flattened out, which is expected to reduce the longer truck turn times. Appointment systems also allow terminals to group appointments for specific stacks of containers, reducing the time spent waiting for container-moving yard equipment to move between stacks.

“Coordinating pick-ups and deliveries with the trucking companies will increase productivity for the truckers and for our terminal operations,” said Sean Lindsay, chief operating officer of International Transportation Service (ITS) terminal in Long Beach. “Therefore, we will be implementing an appointment system in 2016 to achieve this.”

The following terminals currently have appointment systems:

 1. APM Terminals (APMT)
 2. Eagle Marine Services (EMS / GGS)
 3. West Basin Container Terminal (WBCT)
 4. Seaside Transportation Services (STS / Evergreen)
 5. Total Terminals International (TTI)

Terminals planning to implement appointment systems in 2016:

 1. Trapac
 2. Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT)
 3. SSA Terminals (Long Beach) (Pier A)
 4. International Transportation Service (ITS)
 5. Pacific Maritime Services (PCT)

MIAMI — In one of the largest seizures this year at the Miami Seaport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized over 2,300 counterfeit Gucci and Louis Vuitton handbags with an estimated Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $1,076,685. The handbags arrived in a shipment from China on Aug. 19.

CBP officers conducted an examination on the cargo that consisted of 825 cartons of clothes, shoes, trousers and handbags and observed that 20 cartons were not declared on any of the import documentation. This prompted CBP officers to submit the handbags to CBP import specialists for an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) review.  The IPR review revealed 1,200 counterfeit Gucci handbags and 1,195 Louis Vuitton handbags.

“This seizure is a perfect example of our CBP officers and import specialists’ commitment to preventing counterfeit goods from entering the commerce of the United States,” said Acting Miami Seaport Director Kenneth Haefner.

In Fiscal Year 2014, CBP made more than 23,000 seizures of counterfeit goods worth an estimated $1.2 billion MSRP.

Click the following links for more information:

• Priority Trade Issue: Intellectual Property Rights
• IPR Annual Seizure Statistics
• IPR Fact Sheet
• Centers of Excellence and Expertise Information

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has direct responsibility for enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness. By reducing costs for industry and enforcing trade laws against counterfeit, unsafe, and fraudulently entered goods, CBP is working to enable legitimate trade, contribute to American economic prosperity, and protect against risks to public health and safety.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has direct responsibility for enhancing U.S. economic competitiveness. By reducing costs for industry and enforcing trade laws against counterfeit, unsafe, and fraudulently entered goods, CBP is working to enable legitimate trade, contribute to American economic prosperity, and protect against risks to public health and safety.

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has launched an investigation to provide advice to the president on the probable economic effect of removing duties on environmental goods under the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) now being negotiated.

The investigation, WTO Environmental Goods Negotiations:  Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment, Second List of Articles, was requested by the USTR in a letter received on August 21, 2015.  The letter included a list of products to be covered by the report.

The EGA negotiations were launched by the United States and 13 other World Trade Organization (WTO) members on July 8, 2014.  In preparation for the negotiations, the USITC completed two previous confidential reports in 2014 that provided advice and information on U.S. environmental goods trade.

In the letter, the USTR noted that a range of additional environmental goods have been identified during the negotiations and preparatory consultations for the EGA and requested a report that addresses the additional goods.

As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, fact finding federal agency, will provide advice on the probable economic effect of providing duty-free treatment for imports of the environmental goods and related products on U.S. industries and consumers.  The USITC expects to submit its report, which will be confidential, to the USTR by December 4, 2015.

The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation on October 14, 2015. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436, no later than 5:15 p.m. on October 5, 2015.  For further information, call 202-205-2000.

The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record for the investigation. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary of the USITC at the above address. They should be submitted at the earliest practical date, but no later than 5:15 p.m. on October 19, 2015. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection.

Further information on the scope of this investigation and appropriate submissions appears in the USITC's notice of investigation, dated  August 28, 2015. The notice can be obtained from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the above address or at 202-205-2000.

USITC general fact finding investigations cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the USITC’s objective findings and independent analyses on the subject investigated. The USITC makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in these reports.  Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester.  General fact finding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public, unless, like this one, they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.

NORFOLK, Va.— U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at the Port of Norfolk discovered a wood boring pest confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a First in the Nation, a new pest never seen before in the United States. This confirmed, first time, national interception of a variety of pest, Pityophthorus glabratus Eichhoff, a bark beetle which was first described in 1878 in Europe. CBP agriculture specialists discovered this new pest among untreated wooden pallets from Poland.

The intercepted bark beetle is more commonly known by the subfamily Scolytinae - worldwide there are 6,000 species of beetles in this subfamily. Bark beetles are so-named because they live, feed and reproduce in and under the bark of trees. Once an outbreak gets out of control, healthy trees become infested and succumb to the devastating effects of uncontrollable damage to the tissues that serve to transport water and nutrients throughout the tree.

According to the US Forest Service website, as of 2011, an unprecedented bark beetle mortality of 41.7 million acres of forests has occurred in the United States – primarily in the western states. The tree mortality rate, due to bark beetle infestations, has increased over the last decade, affecting spruce, lodgepole, pinyon-juniper, and ponderosa forests, and has been exacerbated by increasing temperatures and drought conditions. The U.S. forest product industry produces $200 billion in sales a year and employs about one million workers.

“This is another example of our agriculture specialists performing a thorough inspection and finding a new potential threat to the U.S. agriculture industry,” said Mark J Laria, Area Port Director for the Port of Norfolk.

All infested and contaminated shipments are safeguarded and transferred for appropriate re-export and/or destruction under CBP agriculture specialist supervision, or for treatment according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Plant Protection and Quarantine requirements.

CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection. On a typical day nationally, they inspect over 1 million people as well as air and sea cargo imported to the United States and intercept 4,447 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 425 agriculture pests and diseases.