Source: http://c-air.com/Newsletter/tabid/64/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/347/C-AIR-TIMES------------------------ISSUE-520.aspx
Timestamp: 2018-09-26 01:34:28
Document Index: 309999730

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1505', '§ 1505', '§ 1514', '§ 24', '§ 142', '§ 24', '§ 142']

C-AIR TIMES ISSUE #520 > C-Air Customhouse Brokers
C-AIR TIMES ISSUE #520 - Friday, March 23, 2018 08:02
POLA and POLB Marine Terminal Gates Closed Thursday, April 5, 2018, from 5 p.m.
Update: CBP Bills for Supplemental Duties, Taxes and Fees, or Vessel Repair Duties
GSP Expected to be Renewed Retroactively - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
The House of Representatives approved “The Consolidated Appropriations Act-2018” (the “Act”), which includes a renewal of Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) through December 31, 2020. The Senate is set to vote to approve the bill before midnight Friday. The bill will be effective 30 days after the date of the enactment of the Act.
Once signed into law by the President, the Act will renew the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) preferential duty program, which expired on December 31, 2017. The renewal will be retroactive, meaning that otherwise-eligible GSP merchandise entered between December 31, 2017, and the effective date of the law will be eligible duty refunds .
Unlike previous GSP renewals, the duty refunds under this renewal will NOT be automatic. The Act provides that importers will need to file a refund “request” with CBP. We anticipate that Customs will issue a directive establishing guidelines for filing refund requests. CBP previously advised importers to continue to flag GSP-eligible importations with the SPI “A” or “A*”pay duty pending the reinstatement of the GSP Program. CBP had indicated that it was developing programing to provide for the batch processing of refunds on all duty paid entries which were filed with SPI “A” or SPI “A*.”
If entries were not flagged with the SPI or batch processing does not occur, the Act states that refund requests must be filed within 180 days of the effective date of the law, which will be 30 days after the bill is signed by the President. The Act further provides that refunds will be issued within 90 days of liquidation or re-liquidation. Interest will not be included in the refunds.
Commerce Publishes Requirements for Exclusion Requests for Section 232 Steel and Aluminum Tariffs - Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman & Klestadt LLP
Under these new rules, the submission of exclusion requests have the following requirements and conditions:
Request can only be made by individuals or organization using steel and aluminum articles in the United States (e.g., construction, manufacturing, supplying steel to end users).
Exclusions will be on a product specific basis and limited to the organization which submitted the request, unless the DOC approves a broader application.
Exclusion requests must be submitted electronically on a required form available at the DOC website (see below). The form requires very detailed information. Supporting records must be uploaded as PDF and there is a 25 page limit, including attachments, but exclusive of the form.
Requests will be made public. Business confidential information can be submitted separately, although the procedure for doing so is not specified.
No time limit as to when to submit the exclusion request.
Objections to an exclusion may be submitted within 30 days after a request is posted.
Exclusions will last for one year. The DOC form requires the request to specify the annual quantity to be covered by the exclusion, although the regulations do not state that exclusions will be limited to specific quantities.
Exclusions will take effect 5 business days after DOC posts its response.
DOC review of an exclusion request normally will not exceed 90 days from the date of submission.
The regulation does not specify if an exclusion, once granted, will be retroactive to March 23. Thus, affected parties are encouraged to submit exclusion requests as soon as possible.
The regulations and the required form raise a number of issues that should be considered by affected parties in developing an exclusion request that will have the highest probability of being accepted. These issues include whether to submit the request by the importer of record or the end user, which foreign mills and countries of origin to include, how to best define the product to be covered by the exclusion, what evidence to include to support the lack of domestic availability or acceptable quality, what quantities to request, and how excluded shipments should be identified to CBP at time of entry.
The DOC forms can be found here:
https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-steel
https://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/232-aluminum
U.S. Exempts Allies From Steel and Aluminum Tariffs - NYTimes
WASHINGTON — Even as it prepares to start collecting tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, the Trump Administration moved Thursday to provide exemptions to a big group of trading partners, at least for now.
The United States trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, told the Senate Finance Committee that the European Union, along with Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Korea, would be exempt. Canada and Mexico were earlier left off the list of countries subject to the tariffs.
PierPass Inc. has been notified that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will observe a special stop work meeting for union business on Thursday, April 5, 2018, starting at 5 p.m. As a result, no marine terminal gates at the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach will operate between the hours of 5:00 p.m. on April 5 through 3:00 a.m. on April 6. There will be no OffPeak shift Thursday night April 5. Please check with individual terminals for substitute or alternative gates.
Update: CBP Bills for Supplemental Duties, Taxes and Fees, or Vessel Repair Duties - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
On August 14, 2017, CBP posted a reminder to the importing public that a bill becomes delinquent 31 days after the date of the bill whether protested or not per 19 USC § 1505(d) and 19 CFR 24.3(e). After 30 days, 19 USC § 1505(d) interest also accrues from the date of liquidation until the full balance is paid. As long as the debt remains unpaid, delinquency interest continues to accrue. Also, per 19 CFR 24.3a(d), the principal will be notified at the time of the initial billing, and every 30 days after the due date until the bill is paid or otherwise closed.
Effective March 26, 2018, CBP will be mailing its dunning letters 120 days from the date of the bill to outline what will happen if payment is not received or if a protest is not filed within 180 days per 19 U.S.C. § 1514. In general, if a protest is filed within 180 days, the bill will not be subject to setoff by diverted refunds, per 19 C.F.R. § 24.72, nor will the importer be subject to sanction because of that bill, per 19 C.F.R. § 142.14, until the protest decision is made. However, if a protest is not filed within 180 days, the bill is subject to being setoff by a diverted refund, if available, per 19 C.F.R. § 24.72, and/or CBP may sanction the importer because of that bill, per 19 C.F.R. § 142.14.
West Coast Cargo Stakeholders Review PierPass Extended Gate Alternatives - PierPass
Additional Read - American Shipper Article
U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Miami and Federal Partners Seize Over Six Million Counterfeit Cigarettes - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
MIAMI — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to a mobile enforcement team along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) commercial fraud agents seized six million counterfeit cigarettes during a recent warehouse inspection. The estimated manufacturer's suggested retail price is $1.1 million.
Statement from FDA's Donald St. Pierre on Findings from Ongoing Investigation Into Lead Testing Issues - Food & Drug Administration