The Canada Border Services Agency said maintenance outages are scheduled for the eManifest Portal, the Electronic Data Interchange and the CCS/CADEX system. There will be multiple outages to those systems on March 23 and March 24, CBSA said in an emailed message. CBSA suggested that filers review the contingency procedures during the outages and that highway carriers have paperwork if going to the border. While the CCS/CADEX system is unavailable, "Customs Declaration Message (CUSDEC) B3s and AO notification of release queries transmitted to the CADEX system will be affected," CBSA said.
According to Reuters, Brazil's farm minister said the tariff-rate quota for wheat imports that was agreed to during Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's Washington visit this week (see 1903190056) was for all global wheat exporters, not exclusively the U.S.
Agreements on trade in cars and light passenger vehicles between Mexico and Argentina and Mexico and Brazil took effect March 19, according to a release from the Mexican Secretary of Economy. For Argentina, beginning in 2019, quotas will rise annually starting at 10 percent in the first year, and 5 percent each year in the second and third years. For Brazil, trade will begin March 19 with an “ICR” of 40 percent, with work continuing on a new formula for the quota, Mexico said.
The U.S. and Brazil will initiate a mutual recognition agreement for trusted trader programs between the two countries at the instructions of President Donald Trump and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, the White House said in a March 19 announcement. An MRA "will reduce costs for American and Brazilian companies," it said. Brazil will also "implement a tariff rate quota, allowing for the annual importation of 750 thousand tons of American wheat at zero rate," the White House said. The U.S. will also "expeditiously schedule a technical visit" by the Food Safety and Inspection Service "to audit Brazil’s raw beef inspection system, as soon as it is satisfied with Brazil’s food safety documentation," the White House said. "Commensurate with its status as a global leader, President Bolsonaro agreed that Brazil will begin to forgo special and differential treatment in World Trade Organization negotiations, in line with the United States proposal," the White House said.
There are two situations that require payment for "B2 payment," the Canada Border Services Agency said in an emailed reminder. When a Detailed Adjustment Statement is issued, "Importers/Brokers can make a payment at the Port, or they can make a payment online," CBSA said. "If the payment is made online, the importer/broker must send an email" to CBSA-ASFC_CARM.GCRA@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca and "provide the BN15, B2 number(s), the amount owing on the B2, and the payment amount and payment date is needed." When no DAS is issued yet, "Importers/Brokers must make their payment at the Port. The Cashiers will code the payment in ARL to identify it as a pre-paid B2," it said. "When the B2 posts to the account the payment will automatically match to it."
Mexico’s secretary of economy hopes to publish a decree later this week that will increase duties to 15 percent on 186 tariff lines, according to a report in El Universal. The tariff increase will apply to the steel, textile and apparel and footwear sectors, the report said. The steel tariff is being imposed to “avoid injury to domestic industry by worldwide steel overproduction" and the illicit means by which metals are imported into Mexico, it said.