News & Information about Transborder and International Trade from GHY International
(CBP)
Attached please find the first issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Textile/Quota Newsletter to CBP and the Trade. Please feel free to share this newsletter with your members and colleagues. Read more here.
Date: February 1, 2012
(CBSA)
This memorandum has been revised to clarify and update Transport Canada’s tire import requirements, the requirements of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and includes instructions on how to import tires using the Accelerated Commercial Release Operation Support System (ACROSS). Read more here.
Date: February 1, 2012
(Embassy – Carl Meyer)
The first deadlines have passed, but neither Canadian nor US governments have announced yet what has been accomplished
The first batch of dozens of deadlines in the Canada-United States perimeter security plan has come and gone, with neither government responding to questions of progress by press time.
The border action plan announced in December notes that by Jan. 31 the two governments would “determine the way ahead” on how to share intelligence related to national security. It is the first milestone in the multi-year Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan that will, among many other things, harmonize much of how Canada and the US share information and evidence between their police forces and intelligence agencies.
The plan, which lays out a series of deadlines over the next few years, notes that bureaucrats should already be hammering away at a new inventory that will show where Prime Minister Stephen Harper and US President Barack Obama need to plug security holes in order to begin building an impenetrable fortress. But by press time neither the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade nor the US Department of Homeland Security were able to answer any questions about progress, or whether the government had met its deadline. Read more here.
Date: February 1, 2012
(ST&R Trade Report)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted to its Web site recently information on the following two projects it is conducting on modernizing the role of customs brokers.
Broker Pre-Certification
Brokers who apply and are accepted into the Importer Self-Assessment Pre-Certification Program will perform the comprehensive review of the ISA applicant’s package and evaluate the applicant’s readiness to self-govern and participate in the ISA program. The accredited broker will draft a final report on the applicant’s ISA readiness and submit it to the Partnership Programs Branch for processing and validation. If there are no anomalies, the report will be scheduled for ISA Review Board approval/certification.
Broker Regulation Redesign
Current broker regulations have not kept up with advancements in technology and CBP’s facilitation goals. CBP is attempting to address this through amendments to the regulations that will (a) clarify brokers’ responsibilities related to importer validation and provide greater visibility of importers; (b) modernize the regulations to align with current electronic capabilities and business practices, which could result in decreased administrative costs for both CBP and customs brokers; and (c) reinforce the broker’s responsibility to exercise due diligence in conducting business and to “professionalize” the customs broker by introducing a continuing education requirement.
Date: February 1, 2012
(Industry Week – Agence France-Presse)
Ruling affects bauxite, coking coal, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus and zinc
The World Trade Organization on Jan 30. upheld its ruling that Chinese restrictions on key raw material exports broke trade rules following an appeal by Beijing. China must bring its duty and export quota measures on elements including magnesium and zinc into line with its WTO obligations, an appeal body said.
The WTO found in favor of the United States, European Union and Mexico in July following a complaint that China had failed to meet the promises it made when joining the body.
The ruling applies to bauxite, coking coal, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus and zinc – many of them vital to the chemical and metal industries for producing things like medicines, fridges and juice cans. Read more here.
Related: WTO Appellate Body Report
Date: February 1, 2012
(CBSA)
1. Amendment 11 to the Energy Efficiency Regulations will come into force on April 12, 2012. This customs notice explains its implications for importers of regulated energy-using products.
2. Amendment 11 will introduce new minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and associated reporting and compliance requirements for five new products:
a. standby for electronic products;
i. compact audio products;
ii. television (TV) and TV combination units (and reporting only of TV on mode);
iii. video products;
b. external power supplies;
c. digital TV adaptors;
d. electric boilers;
e. single package vertical air-conditioners and heat pumps.
3. Amendment 11 will also expand the scope of some products such as electric motors, dry-type transformers and large air conditioners.
4. The Energy Efficiency Regulations apply to dealers who:
a. import regulated energy-using products into Canada for sale or lease; or
b. ship regulated energy-using products that are manufactured in one Canadian province to another for sale or lease.
Date: February 1, 2012
