The US Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter to Congress encouraging Congress to take action on renewing GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) and the MTB (Miscellaneous Tariff Bill), both of which expired in December of 2020.  The Chamber pointed out the impact to US business and urged Congress urgently approve this legislation before the end of the year.

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On October 1st, APHIS (USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) began implementing Phase VI of the Lacey Act enforcement scheduled. Last year, APHIS solicited comments on Phase VI and received numerous concerns that trade could be delayed or disrupted if certain products were added to HTS 4415 and required import declarations.  Phase VI now includes rules that benefit shippers by not requiring import declarations on crates, pallets, and other Wood Packaging Materials used to ship goods.  Only new products categorized under HTS 4415 will require declarations upon import.

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For further details and a list of all affected products, pleasesee the official statement here  

Starting January 1, 2022 the current tariffs on imports of EU steel (25%) and aluminum (10%) will be replaced with a Tariff-Rate Quota. All steel and aluminum products within-quota will not have any Section 232 duty applied, whereas any steel or aluminum imports that arrive above-quota will be charged their respective Section 232 duty rate. The TRQ will be reviewed annually and recalculated regularly in order to keep up with demand.

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Customs Audits 101: What to Expect

December 7, 2021

2:00 PM ET- 3:00 PM ET

1 CCS Credit

Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg

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CBP’s website (linked below) for “Official Notice of Extension, Suspension and Liquidation” can be used to determine the status of entries.  Entries must have a status of extension, suspension, or liquidated to produce any results.  Some of the information returned includes Posted date, Liquidation date, Action (meaning change increase or no change, etc.), Port of Entry, Entry date, Entry Type, and the CEE Team designation.

Users can search by entry number along with combinations of filer code and importer of record numbers.  This can be a useful quick check tool to see the status of entries!

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Mall Santas have an important question to ask themselves when picking out their jolly red attire every winter – Am I buying a Santa Costume or a Santa Suit? The answer to that question will weigh heavily on Saint Nick’s wallet! The difference is how these outfits are officially classified within the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. A cheap, lower quality costume is going to be considered a “festive article”, which is duty-free. However, a nice Santa Suit is considered clothing, sometimes categorized as “fancy dress”, which does have certain duties attached. This can hurt costume businesses hoping to import some holiday cheer. Several costume companies have petitioned the government over the years to have Santa Suits officially classified as festive articles to no avail. So, make sure your children are extra-well behaved this year when you visit Santa Claus at the mall, looking jolly can get expensive!

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