Customs Brokerage News

On Sunday, February 24th President Trump announced that he is postponing the rate increase for the List 3 Section 301 trade remedy duties that was scheduled for implementation on March 2nd. A new deadline was not provided.

On December 1, 2018 President Trump advised the additional duty rate for articles on List 3 would not increase from 10 to 25 percent as scheduled on January 1, 2019.

The Bioterrorism Act and Food Safety Modernization Act requires all domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. to register with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued its final “List 2” for products of Chinese origin for which the additional 25 percent duty will be effective on August 23, 2018.  

Effective October 1, 2018 for fiscal year 2019, U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced a 2.151 percent increase of the merchandise processing fee (MPF).

Effective July 6, 2018, an additional 25 percent rate of duty is assessed upon importation of certain products of Chinese origin, implemented under provisions of Section 301(b) of the Trade Act of 1974.

Effective Friday, March 23, 2018, US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) implemented the additional duties required by the Presidential Proclamations issued for articles of steel and aluminum.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection Increases MPF and Other User Fees and Extends PSC Filing Period.

Please note the following regulatory changes recently announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

CBP Increases MPF and Other User Fees

 U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced an increase of the merchandise processing fee (MPF) and other user fees effective January 1, 2018. While the assessed rate of .3464 percent of the entered value of merchandise does not change, the minimum and maximum limitations for the MPF are adjusted. The minimum increases from $25 to $25.67 and the maximum increases from $485 to $497.99. The MPF for electronically transmitted informal entries increases from $2 to $2.05. Authorized by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) signed in December 2015, fees will be reviewed annually and may be adjusted to account for inflation.

CBP Extends PSC Filing Period

U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced it will provide additional time for importers to file post-summary corrections (PSCs). Effective November 1, 2017 a PSC may be submitted within 300 days of the date of entry or 15 days prior to the scheduled liquidation date, whichever is earlier. Previously, the PSC filing deadline was within 270 days of the entry date but not within 20 days of the scheduled liquidation date. PSCs are amendments to entry summary data for entries that have been fully paid, and are transmitted electronically via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).

Please contact your local Schenker brokerage office if you have questions regarding these changes.

CBP regulatory changes (document)

Last modified: 11.12.2017

The Food Safety Modernization Act includes provisions for a program to verify the safety of imported food.

Download

FDA Food Supplier Verification Program

(PDF | 0,05 MB)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to release its new Import Trade Auxiliary Communications System (ITACS) functionality.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to release its new Import Trade Auxiliary Communications System (ITACS) functionality on Monday, September 18, 2017. To provide information regarding this new functionality the FDA is conducting three opportunities to join a webinar to learn about the following:

• An overview of current ITACS functionality
• Background and overview of the new ITACS account management functionality
• Creating an ITACS account
• Retrieving Notices of FDA Action from ITACS
• Managing ITACS account, users, and groups
• Where to find ITACS and ITACS account management resources

Current functionality does not require an account, and allows the trade community to check the status of entries with FDA data, the ability to submit entry documentation electronically, the ability to electronically submit the location of goods availability, and the ability to check the estimated laboratory analysis completion dates for entries which have been sampled.

The new account functionality will enable the electronic distribution of Notices of FDA Action via email and as downloads from within ITACS. This will allow for faster electronic receipt of Notices of FDA Action and the elimination of mailed paper copies.

More information can be found on FDA’s ITACS for Industry web page.

The dates, times, and WebEx registration links are provided below. To register, go to the link associated to the session and enter name and email address. A confirmation email will be sent with instructions for how to join the session.

Tuesday September 5, 2017, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST
To register for Tuesday’s session:
Go to https://fda.webex.com/fda/k2/j.php?MTID=t5bc49a5cd9ddccf2a9940470801d44b5

Thursday, September 7, 2017 1:00 – 3:00 PM EST
To register for Thursday’s session:
Go to https://fda.webex.com/fda/k2/j.php?MTID=t88127c27b0a67eab7807ee1f2bc5e600

Monday, September 11, 2017 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
To register for Monday’s session:
Go to https://fda.webex.com/fda/k2/j.php?MTID=t2a6757a6a1675814ac90b0fdf5e9b809

We encourage all companies that import FDA-regulated products to join one of the sessions to learn about this new electronic method by which to communicate with the FDA. Please contact your local Schenker brokerage office if you have questions regarding your entries subject to FDA requirements.

Download

FDA Outreach Webinars - Enhanced Shipment Status Notification System

(PDF | 0,17 MB)
PDF Download

Relevant contact

Schenker, Inc.
Heather Burke
Director, Trade Services
1501 Hughes Way, Suite 300
Long Beach, CA 90810
United States

Phone: +1 (310) 221-3224

Mobile: +1 (419) 280-8886

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