2008

The final rule on the 10 + 2 Importer Security Filing was published in today’s Federal Register notice. It has an effective date of January 26, 2009.

As expected, CBP is providing a one year "informed compliance" period to the trade community and in addition, is seeking public comment on certain aspects of the ISF filing in order to obtain feedback on operational aspects of the rule.

On October 27, 2008 the House Committee on Ways and Means as well as the Committee's Subcommittee on Trade issued a bi-partisan letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security questioning some provisions of the proposed final rule concerning the implementation of the "10+2" rule published by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The "10+2" rule involves a provision of the SAFE Port Act of 2006, which requires Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide for the collection of additional data to enhance the security of cargo.

The Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published a Federal Register notice this week establishing the implementation dates for the import declaration requirements for all plant and plant products as a result of the Lacey Act.

As part of the SAFE Port Act legislation, Customs is advising the trade community by Federal Register notice dated August 5, that all containers in transit to the United States by October 15, 2008, must be sealed with a seal meeting the ISO/PAS 17712 standards for sealing containers.

Failure to be in compliance with this requirement, as codified in 6 U.S.C. 944, may result in penalties being assessed under 19 U.S.C. 1595a(b) for attempting to enter merchandise into the U.S. contrary to U.S. law.

On Friday, June 20, 2008 the Federal Register published a Notice and solicitation of public comment on the initiation of a review to consider designating Vietnam as a beneficiary developing country (BCD) for purposes of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

According to the website of the Vietnam Trade Office in the USA, (FAQ – Understanding Vietnam and GSP):

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of International Trade has developed a new online trade violation reporting system called eAllegations to facilitate online reporting of suspected Customs violations. Visit the Customs news release webpage CBP Develops New Online Trade Violation Reporting System to learn more about the program.

President Bush has signed a proclamation terminating the exercise of the Trading With the Enemy Act (TWEA) with respect to North Korea, effective 12:01 AM, June 27, 2008. However, his Executive Order of June 26, 2008, finds that "the current existence and risk of the proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States".

A pilot program has been initiated between China and US Customs to institute a validation program using the Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT) minimum security criteria as a guide and with CBP supply chain specialists providing technical assistance. Three US C-TPAT importers with supply chains in China were invited to participate. Previously, US importers who had substantial supply chains in China were unable to be validated, as Chinese authorities would not allow US Customs to perform validations in China.

The State Department has approved eight Food and Drug Administration (FDA) positions at United States diplomatic posts in China, pending authorization from the Chinese government. The FDA also plans on hiring five local Chinese nationals to work with the new FDA staff.

Building the FDA’s capacity outside of the United States supports the agency’s "Beyond our Borders" initiative, and should help assure that products shipped to the United States meet US standards for safety and manufacturing quality.

The following is from a press release on the Department of Homeland Security Website:

Customs has published proposed new security filing regulations for carriers and importers in the Federal Register: These proposed rules on this very controversial subject will add a significant reporting burden to carriers and importers. You can view this publication by clicking here.