Effective October 1, 2014, LA/LB Seaport to Modify Enforcement Posture on ISF No-File Shipments

The “interim final” rule that became effective on January, 26, 2009 has now – for practical purposes – become the final rule as to a great many ISF filings. However, for some time CBP and the trade have been discussing an urgent need for limited changes to Part 149 of the Customs Regulations, primarily to eliminate confusion as to ISF-5* and certain other filing responsibilities. The result has been the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking in the July 6 Federal Register. The comment period expires on September 6, 2016. CBP has addressed the situation by drafting a new definition of […]

By Matt Zehner, VP, Surety Information & Analysis, Roanoke Insurance Group Inc. Recently, my colleague Colleen introduced Tariffs and Bond Stacking Liability and the need for importers to monitor bond sufficiency on a regular basis, with the goal to avoid a short-notice demand from CBP to terminate and file a larger bond.  One significant reason to planning the timing of when to make use of a larger continuous bond is that by reducing the number of times the bond amount changes over time, the bond principal is able to minimize the accumulation of bond liability.  There are ancillary benefits to importers when […]

Many Customs and trade laws carry significant financial consequences for importers, and of these laws, antidumping and countervailing duties pose some of the most dangerous ramifications. These provisions exist to protect domestic industries and producers from unfair foreign competition. Under U.S. law, goods are subject to assessment of “ordinary duties” based on their classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. However, U.S. law also defines certain situations in which goods are being sold to the U.S. at prices below cost of production or below “fair market value”. This is referred to as “dumping”. Like ADD, CVD is […]