CBP will begin expanding the pilot project to have export ocean manifests filed via e-mail into the Document Imaging System (DIS) in place of the physical paper document being presented at the port, Customs said in a Aug. 21 CSMS message. The paper manifest for those pilot participants will be submitted via a readable PDF attachment to an e-mail. The initial phase of the pilot began in the Atlanta field office and includes the ports of Norfolk, Newport News, Wilmington, Beaufort, Morehead City, Georgetown, Charleston, Savannah and Brunswick. The full CBP notice is (here).
In the Aug. 22 issue of the CBP Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 35), CBP published a notice that proposes to revoke and modify rulings and similar treatment regarding the tariff classification of work footwear.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Aug. 20. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs; etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics; etc.
A federal jury found Manuel Eduardo Pena, a CBP officer, guilty of two counts of making a false statement in a firearms record and one count of making a false statement to a federal agency, said the Justice Department in a press release. Pena has been a CBP officer for 12 years and the charges are unrelated to his official duties. U.S. District Court Judge Hilda Tagle, who presided over the trial, has set sentencing for Nov. 19, at which time Pena faces up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on each count of conviction. Previously released on bond, Pena was allowed to remain on bond pending sentencing.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP posted an Aug. 20 version of its CF 1400 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Entrances) electronic query report of the Vessel Management System (VMS), in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by entrances. CBP also posted a version of its CF 1401 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Clearances) electronic query report of the VMS, in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by clearances.
In the Aug. 22 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 34), CBP published two notices that propose to revoke two rulings and similar treatment regarding the tariff classification of hole saw kits and automobile heater assemblies.
CBP posted an updated document regarding the mutual recognition of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and foreign industry partnership programs.
In the Aug. 15 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 46, No. 34), CBP published two notices of revocation and one notice of modification of rulings and treatment regarding the tariff classification of saddle blankets and vacuum hoses.
The U.S. should apply the CBP U.S-Canadian "Beyond the Border" approach to the Southern Border to facilitate trade and travel with Mexico, said CBP Deputy Commissioner Thomas Winkowski during a meeting on U.S.-Mexico competitiveness hosted in Laredo by the Council of the Americas. Winkowski also spoke of transforming the way CBP does business and pushing the borders outward, according to CBP press release.