On June 29, 2015, President Obama signed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, reinstating the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The newly signed legislation will extend the GSP, retroactively applying benefits to eligible commodities, through December 31, 2017. The reinstatement of the GSP will entitle shippers from nearly 120 designated GSP countries to refunds […]

GSP renewal legislation has finally passed in both the House and the Senate. The legislation will now go to the President for his signature. The proposed legislation will reinstate the General System of Preference (GSP), retroactively applying benefits to eligible commodities; the program would be effective until December 31, 2017. The Coalition for GSP released […]

On June 11, the House of Representatives passed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 bill moving it along to the Senate for Congressional approval. If the bill receives senatorial support, the final step would be for President Obama to sign the legislation into law. The proposed legislation would reinstate the General Systemof Preference (GSP), retroactively […]

Starting July 9, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) instituted a policy that every liquidated damages enforcement action for Importer Security Filings (ISF) would be reviewed by CBP headquarters for a period of at least one year. On May 13, 2014, Customs reset the twelve month review period. The current enforcement review period will […]

Legislation to renew GSP was introduced on April 16th by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI). The legislation would renew GSP through December 31, 2017, and also provide for refunds on GSP […]

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has published a notice in today’s Federal Register announcing the next phase of Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers that will require a Lacey Act declaration at the time of importation starting on August 6, 2015. This is the first new phase in […]

The Food Safety Modernization Act requires food facilities to renew their registration between October 1st and December 31st in even-numbered years. Domestic and foreign food facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food must renew their registration by December 31, 2014. Registrations that are not renewed by December 31st will be invalidated and subsequent entries […]

The Food Safety Modernization Act requires food facilities to renew their registration between October 1st and December 31st in even-numbered years. Domestic and foreign food facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food must renew their registration by December 31, 2014. Registrations that are not renewed by December 31st will be invalidated and subsequent entries […]

The Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division (FTD) is announcing the publication of an Interim Final Rule revising the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), Title 15, Part 30. This rule reinstates the previous filing exemptions in Sections 30.37(q) and (r) of the FTR for temporary exports, including carnets, and goods that were imported under a Temporary Import […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a ban on food imports from the United States, Canada and Europe in response to sanctions imposed by those nations. A one year ban has been imposed on beef, poultry, pork, fish, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. The Obama administration does not foresee much impact on the U.S. economy […]

The United States has moved to impose more sanctions on Russia to address that country’s continuing policy of destabilization in Ukraine and occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol. Today’s Federal Register has a notice adding controls on certain items for use in Russia’s energy sector. A license will now be required to ship certain goods used directly or […]

As outlined in our April Shap Talk, new export regulations went into effect on April 5, 2014. These updated regulations encompass reporting an ultimate consignee type, reporting a license value, and declarations for used self-propelled vehicles, port of export, split shipments, post-departure, and household goods. Certain exemptions for Electronic Export Information (EEI) data have been […]

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) opened online registration today at 12:00 pm ET for the 2014 East Coast Trade Symposium.  The event, originally postponed in October due to the government shutdown, will be held on March 6-7, at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, DC. This year’s theme for the symposium will be “Increasing Economic Competitiveness […]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection in JFK has announced a new date for the toys and festive articles seminar that was postponed in October due to the government shutdown. The new date will be Thursday, January 23, 2014 at the Main Conference Room, 2nd Floor, Building 77, JFK Airport. The seminar starts at 9:30 a.m. […]

After a shutdown that lasted over two weeks, the U.S. government reopened on Thursday October 17th.  Trade support offices are now open and websites that were previously suspended are now operational, including the Harmonized Tariff Schedule on the International Trade Commission’s site, which seemed to cause the most consternation. The International Trade Administration sent out […]

U.S. Customs has announced the postponement of their East Coast Trade Symposium, previously scheduled for October 24-25, 2013, in Washington, D.C. They cited the protracted lapse in appropriations as significantly impacting their ability to prepare for and commit the resources necessary to hold the event as planned.  Customs is committed to hosting the event at […]

The following is an update from various sources regarding the current government shutdown. U.S. Customs – CBP operations are proceeding as normal. Ports of entry are open and clearance of cargo is ongoing with minimal impact according to Customs. Cargo security and revenue functions will remain operational. The Customs broker licensing exam scheduled for Monday […]

The United States government shut down at midnight on September 30th. The services of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are not expected to be affected as they are considered essential. Cargo will continue to clear. U.S. Customs duties are the second largest source of revenue to the federal government. However, overtime services at the […]

Registration is now open for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Trade Symposium to be held October 24-25 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. Topics to be covered include ACE, interagency efforts with U.S. exports, air cargo advance screening, and partnership programs in trade enforcement. The symposium is a popular event, so don’t […]

The Generalized System of Preferences program expired July 31st despite efforts to pass legislation to extend the program to September 2015. Chances of renewal are slim at this point since Congress adjourns for its summer recess on August 2nd. They are not back in session until after Labor Day, so importers can expect to pay […]