Customs Brokerage News

Effective October 1, 2019

U.S. Customs & Border Protection announced a 2.174 percent increase of the merchandise processing fee (MPF) effective October 1, 2019 for fiscal year 2020. 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 fee is now reviewed annually and may be adjusted to account for inflation as authorized under the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). The rate of increase is calculated from the base year of 2014, so the published rate increase of 7.167 percent is based on fee amounts in that year ($25 formal min, $485 formal max), rather than from current rates.

• Formal entry minimum increases from $26.22 to $26.79
• Formal entry maximum increases from $508.70 to $519.76
• Informal entry electronically transmitted to CBP increases from $2.10 to $2.14
• Informal entry manually submitted to CBP increases from $6.29 to $6.43

Download
CBP Increases MPF

On August 1st President Trump announced his intention to assess 10 percent additional duty starting September1, 2019 on remaining imports from China.  The Section 301 additional duties will be imposed on products that are on “List 4”, with an annual trade value of approximately $300 billion. The USTR published the preliminary List 4 in the May 17, 2019 Federal Register, and public hearings were held in June.  The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said,  "this list covers essentially all remaining imports from China. The proposed product list excludes pharmaceuticals, certain pharmaceutical inputs, select medical goods, rare earth materials, and critical minerals."  At this point we must wait until the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) publishes the final list and posts the legal notice in the Federal Register in order for the tariff to take effect.

Download
Section 301 List 4 Duties Announced

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