CSMS #52834229 - Information on Customs User Fee Changes Effective October 1, 2022 - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
Pursuant to the General Notice (87 FR 46973) published August 1, 2022, adjustments to certain customs user fees and corresponding limitations, as codified in 19 U.S.C. § 58c, will take effect on October 1, 2022. These adjustments are being made in accordance with the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (FAST Act), Public Law 114-94. The General Notice may be accessed at the link below:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/08/01/2022-16533/cobra-fees-to-be-adjusted-for-inflation-in-fiscal-year-2023
The Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) ad valorem rate of 0.3464% will NOT change. The MPF minimum and maximum for formal entries (class code 499) will change. The minimum will change from $27.75 to $29.66; and the maximum will change from $538.40 to $575.35.
Some other fees that are changing:
The fee for Informal Entry/Release, automated and not prepared by CBP personnel (class code 311a), will change to $2.37.
The Surcharge for Manual Entry/Release (class code 500) will change to $3.56.
The Dutiable Mail fee (class code 496) will change to $6.52.
The Express Consignment Carrier/Centralized Hub Facility fee will change to $1.19 per individual waybill/bill of lading. An individual air waybill is the bill at the lowest level, and is not a master bill or other consolidated document. See 82 FR 50523 (Nov. 1, 2017).
The Commercial Vessel or Commercial Aircraft Passenger Arrival customs fee will change to $6.52 per passenger.
The Commercial Vessel Passenger Arrival (from exempt areas) customs fee will change to $2.29 per passenger.
The Commercial Truck Arrival fee will change to $6.50. The Commercial Truck Arrival Fee is the CBP fee only; it does not include the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Agricultural and Quarantine Inspection (AQI) Services Fee (currently $7.55) that
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CSMS #52858040 - Reporting a Cybersecurity Event to CBP - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
Technology is an essential element that allows for the facilitation of international trade to flow through the United States with data provided by the trade community to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Partner Government Agencies.
If a member of the trade community is victim of a cybersecurity attack that impacts the company’s ability to transmit transactions to CBP, CBP has identified the following information for reporting such an event and follow up steps.
Initial Steps/Communication for Reporting Cybersecurity Incident to CBP
• Who to contact at CBP?
o All security incidents that have any effect on the security posture of CBP must be reported to the CBP Office of Information Technology (OIT) Security Operations Center (CBP SOC) at 703-921-6507.
o During business hours (6:30 am-7:30 pm EST): Contact CBP OIT SOC at 703-921-6507 and if applicable, contact the party’s Client Representative. If the Client Representative is unknown, please contact gmb.clientrepoutreach@cbp.dhs.gov.
o After business hours (after 7:30 pm EST): Contact CBP OIT SOC and the CBP Technology Service Desk at ACE.SUPPORT@cbp.dhs.gov (with the Client Representative email address on copy, as appropriate).
• When to contact CBP?
o CBP should be contacted immediately once a cybersecurity attack is discovered.
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Federal Register Notices:
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Advance Notification of Sunset Review
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Integrated Circuits, Chipsets, and Electronic Devices, and Products Containing the Same; Notice of a Commission Determination Not To Review an Initial Determination Terminating the Investigation Based on Settlement; Termination of Investigation
• Cased Pencils From China; Institution of a Five-Year Review
• Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber From Brazil, Mexico, Poland, and South Korea; Institution of Five-Year Reviews
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Pasta From Italy: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Partial Recission of Review; 2020-2021
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Wooden Bedroom Furniture From China; Scheduling of Expedited Five-Year Review
• Ammonium Sulfate From China; Scheduling of Full Five-Year Reviews
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Steel Nails From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Stainless Steel Plate in Coils From Belgium, South Africa, and Taiwan: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Orders and Countervailing Duty Order
• Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe From the People's Republic of China; Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From the Republic of Korea; Certain Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipes and Tubes From India; Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From Taiwan; Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Taiwan; Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube From the People's Republic of China; Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube From the Republic of Korea; Light-Walled Welded Rectangular Carbon Steel Tubing From Taiwan: Initiation of Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders
• Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Certain Lemon Juice From Brazil: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
• Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Determinations, Investigations, etc.: Certain Steel Nails From the Republic of Turkey: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
• Certain Steel Nails From Thailand: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
• Certain Steel Nails From India: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber (NBR) From France, Mexico, and South Korea: Determinations
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Taiwan: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2020-2021
• Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip From India: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Xanthan Gum From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Partial Rescission of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2020-2021
• Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 2020
• Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar From the Republic of Turkey: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2020-2021
• Certain Steel Nails From Malaysia: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Certain Collated Staples From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2019-2020
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Facing the Future: CBP Hosts First Trade Summit in Anaheim - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
The focus was on the future at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s first Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit. Over 3,000 attendees, 1,000 on-site and more than 2,000 virtually, gathered in Anaheim, California, July 18-20, to learn more about CBP’s forward vision in a constantly changing trade environment. It was the first time CBP had hosted an in-person trade event of this magnitude since the pandemic began two-and-a-half years ago. It was also the first time the agency had combined two of its signature events—CBP’s annual trade symposium and the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism conference, or CTPAT.
Read entire article here
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TJX Agrees to Pay $13 Million Civil Penalty for Selling, Offering for Sale and Distributing Recalled Products - Federal Trade Commission
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that The TJX Companies Inc., of Framingham, Massachusetts, has agreed to pay a $13 million civil penalty for selling, offering for sale, and distributing previously recalled consumer products. It has further agreed to maintain a compliance program to ensure that it meets the obligations of the law and this settlement going forward. The agreement settles charges that the firm knowingly sold, offered for sale, and distributed approximately 1,200 recalled products from 21 separate voluntary corrective actions during a five-year period from March 2014 through October 2019.
Federal law prohibits the sale, offer for sale, or distribution in commerce of a consumer product that is subject to voluntary corrective action, such as a recall, that has been publicly announced and taken in consultation with CPSC.
CPSC staff charged that TJX sold, offered for sale, and distributed the recalled products through its brick-and-mortar retail stores including T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and online. The majority of the post recall sales were products recalled due to the risk of infant suffocation and death including the Kids II Rocking Sleepers, Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers, and Fisher-Price Inclined Sleeper Accessory for Ultra-Lite Day & Night Play Yards.
On November 26, 2019, CPSC and TJX jointly issued a press release announcing that TJX had sold, offered for sale, and distributed 19 separate recalled products. After the press release was announced, TJX reported to staff that it subsequently discovered previous sales of three additional recalled products.
In addition to paying the $13 million civil penalty, TJX will maintain a compliance program and system of internal controls to ensure that the company complies with the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), including a program for the appropriate identification, quarantine, and disposal of recalled products. TJX will also maintain internal controls designed to ensure TJX’s compliance with the CPSA, requiring TJX to review claims, report safety concerns, implement corrective and preventive actions when compliance deficiencies or violations are identified, and establish senior management oversight of TJX’s compliance program. TJX has also agreed to file annual reports regarding the compliance program and system of internal controls for a period of 5 years.
TJX’s settlement of this matter does not constitute an admission by TJX, or a determination by the Commission, that TJX knowingly violated the CPSA.
The Commission voted 4-0-1 to provisionally accept the settlement.
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CBP and Customs Administrations Agree on Strengthening Supply Chain Security - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
Diverse agreements reached with Guatemala, Colombia and Uruguay
ANAHEIM, California — Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with the customs administration of Uruguay and also signed a Joint Work Plan (JWP) with the customs administrations of Guatemala and Colombia at the Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit.
“These agreements help us work more closely with our international partners to secure and facilitate the supply chain across the globe,” said CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus. “This gives American consumers, workers, and manufacturers confidence in the safety and availability of the products we need.”
For the event, Commissioner Magnus hosted Werner Ovalle Ramirez, Customs Director of Guatemala’s Superintendencia de Administracion Tributaria; Ingrid Diaz, Director for the Direccion de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales de Colombia; and Jaime Borgiani, Director General for the Direccion Nacional de Aduanas de Uruguay.
MRAs are bilateral understandings between two Customs Administrations providing a platform for the exchange of membership information and recognizes the compatibility of the respective supply chain security program. A JWP is a document that lays out the path towards MR between the two customs administration’s Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs. A JWP shows commitment from both programs, requires high level support, and lays out detailed steps towards MRA. At the completion of a JWP, both customs administrations will determine if an MRA is feasible and should be pursued.
The document, referred to as an “arrangement,” indicates that the security requirements or standards of the foreign industry partnership program, as well as its verification procedures, are the same or like those of the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program.
The essential concept of MR is that CTPAT and the foreign Customs Administration program have established a standard set of security requirements which allows one business partnership program to recognize the validation findings of the other program which benefits both Customs Administrations and the private sector participants.
CTPAT is a voluntary public-private sector partnership program which recognizes that CBP can provide the highest level of cargo security only through close cooperation with the principle stakeholders of the international supply chain such as importers, carriers, consolidators, licensed customs brokers, and manufacturers.
When an entity joins CTPAT, an agreement is made to work with CBP to protect the supply chain, identify security gaps, and implement specific security measures and best practices. Applicants must address a broad range of security topics and present security profiles that list action plans to align security throughout the supply chain.
CTPAT continues international efforts with international partners to consistently provide tangible benefits while not compromising security and ensuring trade facilitation. CTPAT is committed to international cooperation and coordination to consistently strengthen and secure global supply chains and to further global standardization of AEO programs.
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FMC Unveils Plan for Data Collection Initiative Mandated by OSRA - Federal Maritime Commission
The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking public comments on a proposed plan for gathering import and export information from vessel-operating common carriers that is responsive to a requirement established as part of Public Law 116-146, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA).
The law mandates the Commission collect and publish total import and export tonnage and the total loaded and empty 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) per vessel of vessels calling the United States. The law further states that ocean common carriers shall provide all necessary information to the Commission. The Commission is required to publicly report this information on a quarterly basis.
The Commission proposes collecting information on tonnage and TEUs from each identified common carrier on a monthly basis. The Commission proposes to collect information from ocean common carriers that transport 1,500 or more TEUs per month (laden and/or empty) in or out of U.S. ports in international common carriage.
Approximately 70 of the 154 currently registered vessel-operating common carriers transport 1,500 or more TEUs per month. Implementing the proposed approach will result in capturing in excess of 99% of imported and exported containerized cargo. The Commission possesses the ability to access additional information for the less than one percent of remaining data if circumstances deem it necessary to do so.
Once the Request for Public Comment is published in the Federal Register, interested parties will have 60 days to share their views with the Commission.
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As Part of Ongoing Airline Consumer Protections Efforts, USDOT Announces New Rulemaking That Would Strengthen Protections for Consumers Seeking Refunds of Airline Tickets - Department of Transportation
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (Department) announced a proposed rule for public comment, which if adopted, would significantly strengthen protections for consumers seeking refunds for airline tickets. Since early 2020, the Department has received a flood of air travel service complaints from consumers with non-refundable tickets who did not travel because airlines canceled or significantly changed their flights or because the consumers decided not to fly for pandemic-related reasons such as health concerns.
“When Americans buy an airline ticket, they should get to their destination safely, reliably, and affordably,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This new proposed rule would protect the rights of travelers and help ensure they get the timely refunds they deserve from the airlines.”
For many years, under the Department’s statutory authority to prohibit unfair practices, the Department has required airlines and ticket agents to refund travelers if airlines cancel or significantly change their flights. However, the terms significant change and cancellation had not previously been defined, which has resulted in inconsistency among carriers on when passengers are entitled to refunds. Further, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, various airlines have questioned the Department’s authority to require refunds for flights airlines cancel or significantly change. This proposal would codify the Department’s longstanding interpretation that a failure to provide refunds when a carrier cancels or significantly changes a flight to, from, or within the United States is an unfair practice. The Department is also proposing, for the first time, to define the terms significant change and cancellation.
The Department proposes that significant changes to a flight would include:
• Changes that affect the departure and/or arrival times by three hours or more for a domestic flight or six hours or more for an international flight;
• Changes to the departure or arrival airport;
• Changes that increase the number of connections in the itinerary; and
• Changes to the type of aircraft flown if it causes a significant downgrade in the air travel experience or amenities available onboard the flight.
Under the proposal, a canceled flight would mean a flight that was published in a carrier’s Computer Reservation System at the time of the ticket sale but was not operated by the carrier.
The proposal would also require that airlines and ticket agents provide passengers flight credits or vouchers that are valid indefinitely when passengers are unable to fly for certain pandemic related reasons, such as government-mandated bans on travel, closed borders, or passengers advised not to travel to protect their health or the health of other passengers. Further, under the proposal, airlines and ticket agents that receive significant government assistance related to a pandemic would be required to issue refunds, in lieu of non-expiring travel credits or vouchers.
The Department encourages members of the public and interested parties to attend a virtual public meeting of the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee focusing on this rulemaking scheduled for August 22, 2022, and to submit comments on this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM). Comments must be received within 90 days of the date the notice is published in the Federal Register. The NPRM can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news and at regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2022-0089.
Requests to attend the meeting must be submitted to https://usdot.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_e_B-NtXfT8KlqgoNCH3f7w. Additional information on this public meeting (including how to make requests to make remarks during the meeting) is available at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news.
The issuance of the Airline Ticket Refund NPRM is one of the many steps the Department is taking to protect consumers. In November 2021, the Department’s Office of Aviation and Consumer Protection issued its largest fine ever for extreme delays in providing refunds to thousands of consumers for flights to or from the United States that a carrier canceled. The Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection recently concluded its investigation of 10 other airlines and is pursuing enforcement action against them for extreme delays in providing refunds for flights the airlines canceled or significantly changed. The Office is actively investigating refund practices of more than 10 additional airlines flying to, from, or within the United States.
In addition, on August 1, 2022, the Department submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review an NPRM on Transparency of Airline Ancillary Fees. This rulemaking would amend the Department’s consumer protection regulation to ensure that consumers have ancillary fee information at or before the time of ticket purchase, including baggage fees, change fees, cancellation fees, and seat fees that affect families traveling with young children.
For information about airline passenger rights, as well as DOT’s rules, guidance and orders, the Department’s aviation consumer website can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.