U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has scheduled the next Customs Broker License Examination for Monday, October 3, 2005.
Customs duty
A customs duty is a tariff or tax which a country imposes on goods when they are transported across international borders. Customs Duties are used to protect countries' economies, residents, jobs, and environments, by limiting the flow of imported merchandise, especially restricted and prohibited goods, into the country. The Customs duty rate is a percentage determined by the value of the article purchased in the foreign country and not based on quality, size, or weight. U.S. customs duties are listed in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
On July 25, 2005, the House Ways and Means Committee's Trade Subcommittee issued an advisory requesting comments by September 2, 2005 on almost 700 miscellaneous duty suspension and technical corrections bills.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has posted to its Web site a notice announcing that it has issued a proposed rule to expand the tariff publication exemption provided to non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) in NVOCC Service Arrangements (NSAs), by allowing NVOCCs and shippers' associations with NVOCC members to act as shippers in NSAs.
On August 2, 2005, President Bush signed H.R. 3045, the Dominican Republic-Central America - U.S. Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) Implementation Act into law (Public Law (P.L.) 109-53).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has created a new page on its Website which it states is an overview of the Federal Register notices and Quota Book Transmittals (QBTs) that explain and support the implementation and administration of China textile products and apparel subject to safeguard restraints.
On July 28, 2005, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3045, the "Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act" by a vote of 217 yeas to 215 nays.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a report entitled, "African Growth and Opportunity Act Competitiveness Report," which incorporates studies of each of the 37 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) eligible countries1.
On June 29, 2005, President Bush issued Proclamation 7912 in order to implement certain Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) changes effective July 1, 2005; restore suspended GSP benefits for a number of India or Pakistan articles; grant GSP benefits for the country of Serbia and Montenegro; implement certain North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rules of origin changes; delineate certain Carribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) benefits for footwear; treat certain members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) as one country for purposes of GSP, etc.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has published a list of updated quantity-based trigger levels and applicable periods, effective August 14, 2005, for agricultural products which may be subject to additional import duties under the safeguard provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture. FAS also states that beginning this year, the method of determining these triggers has been modified to exclude trade from countries that are not subject to WTO safeguards.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) and the Department of Interior's Office of Insular Affairs (Insular Affairs) have issued a proposed rule to amend 15 CFR Part 303 which governs watch duty-exemption allocations and the watch and jewelry duty-refund benefits for producers in the U.S. insular possessions (the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).