CUSTOMS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE

FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS

GSP/ATPA UPDATE
02/07
Now that Bulgaria and Romania are members of the EC, they are no longer eligible for GSP treatment. However, GSP for other eligible countries has been extended through December 31, 2008 and ATPA through June 30, 2007.

NAFTA CHANGE
09/06

Goods which qualify for NAFTA from either Canada or Mexico are subject to declaration with the special indicator – CA for Canada and MX for Mexico – in order to obtain duty free treatment. When such goods are imported, they are also exempt from payment of the merchandise processing fee. There are many such shipments arriving from these two countries which do not claim NAFTA but may nonetheless be exempt from payment of the MPF.

In the August 23, 2006 Federal Register, Customs has proposed to raise the threshold amount for exemption of production of the Certificate of Origin to $2,500, provided the necessary signed statement is made on or with the invoice. $2,500 is the total value of the shipment and not the line item value. Additionally, Customs proposes that in those instances where goods are imported from Canada or Mexico and are exempt from the MPF, the CA and MX indicators should be stated on the entry summary, even if NAFTA is not claimed. Comments must be filed no later than October 23, 2006.

U.S.-CHILE FTA
02/04

Looking for basic information about this agreement,  the Certificate of Origin and how to fill it out?

Check http://www/mac.doc.gov/chilefta. The site only works intermittently so if you are desperate, let us known and we’ll e-mail you the materials.


Jordan Free Trade Agreement Wrinkle
01/02

Although the U.S.­Jordan Free Trade Agreement took effect as of December 17, 2001, Customs programming has not yet caught up. As a result, filers who want to take advantage of the benefits are being required to file non­ABI entries until further notice.

AOGA/CBTPA
12/00

Wondering about the particulars of the new Caribbean and Africa trade bill? Check out the article just posted on our web site. We have also just added an article which explains the Post Entry Amended test program finally announced by Customs. It is expected to eliminate Supplemental Information Letters and allow importers to file quarterly reports in many instances instead of the current cumbersome entry-by-entry correction process, although in specific instances immediate correction of an entry is still required.


AFRICA-CBI BILL DELAYED
10/00

Because of ambiguities in the new Africa-CBI bill, Customs is seeking clarification from Congress focused on the scope and extent of benefits to be granted.

Customs has also announced that although the regulations implementing the new law were to take effect on October 1, 2000, there are too many open questions for those regulations to be published just yet plus ACS programming will not be completed on time. In other words, importers will not be able to make claims under the new law for some time.