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 […]

As most of you know, the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program expired July 31, 2013. The average liquidation cycle is about 10 months, so entries made in August 2013 will be liquidating shortly. The question has come up if importers should start filing protests or requesting suspension of liquidation in order to preserve their […]

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program is slated to expire on July 31, 2013. As of this writing, it appears unlikely that Congress will extend the legislation prior to the expiration date. With the upcoming Congressional summer recess, we may be facing another late renewal of GSP, albeit hopefully with retroactive status. We recommend […]

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that they will begin full enforcement of the Importer Security Filing (ISF or 10+2) on July 9, 2013. To date, CBP has been applying a measured and commonsense approach to ISF enforcement. The existing liquidated damages provisions will be employed. While there may be multiple errors on […]