U.S. Customs and Border Protection May 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document adopts as a final rule, with some changes, interim amendments to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations which were published in the Federal Register on October 5, 2000, as T.D. 00-67, and later amended by T.D. 03-15 published in the Federal Register on March 21, 2003, to implement the trade benefit provisions for sub-Saharan Africa contained in Title I of the Trade and Development Act of 2000, as amended. The trade benefits under Title I, also referred to as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), apply to sub-Saharan African countries designated by the President and involve: The extension of duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) to non-textile articles normally excluded from GSP duty-free treatment that are not import-sensitive; and the entry of specific textile and apparel articles free of duty and free of any quantitative limits. The regulatory amendments adopted as a final rule in this document reflect and clarify the statutory standards for preferential tariff treatment under the AGOA, as amended by section 3108 of the Trade Act of 2002 and include other amendments necessitated by passage of the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004 and the Africa Investment Incentive Act of 2006. This final rule includes specific documentary, procedural and other related requirements that must be met in order to obtain preferential treatment. This document also adopts as a final rule interim amendments to the CBP regulations implementing the GSP which were included in T.D. 00-67 to conform those regulations to previous amendments to the GSP statute. Moreover, this document adopts as a final rule other changes to the AGOA implementing regulations made by T.D. 03-15 to clarify several issues that arose after their original publication.

This document adopts as a final rule interim amendments to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations which were published in the Federal Register on October 23, 2013, as CBP Dec. 13- 17, to implement the preferential tariff treatment and other customs- related provisions of the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to CBP regulations, that SGS North America, Inc., has been accredited to test petroleum, petroleum products, organic chemicals and vegetable oils for customs purposes for the next three years as of October 29, 2013.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act: Record of Vessel Foreign Repair or Equipment Purchase (CBP Form 226). CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended with no change to the burden hours or to the information collected. This document is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to CBP regulations, that Intertek USA, Inc., has been approved to gauge petroleum and certain petroleum products and accredited to test petroleum and certain petroleum products for customs purposes for the next three years as of August 22, 2013.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act: Documentation Requirements for Articles Entered Under Various Special Tariff Treatment Provisions. CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended with no change to the burden hours or to the information collected. This document is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act: Automated Clearinghouse. CBP is proposing that this information collection be extended with no change to the burden hours or to the information collected. This document is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to CBP regulations, that Los Angeles Bunker Surveyors, Inc., has been approved to gauge petroleum and certain petroleum products for customs purposes for the next three years as of July 30, 2013.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to CBP regulations, that Intertek USA, Inc., has been approved to gauge petroleum and certain petroleum products and accredited to test petroleum and certain petroleum products for customs purposes for the next three years as of September 11, 2013.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is requesting individuals who are interested in serving on the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (COAC) to apply for appointment. COAC provides advice and makes recommendations to the Secretaries of the Treasury and Homeland Security (DHS) on all matters involving the commercial operations of CBP and related functions.

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to CBP regulations, that Intertek USA, Inc., has been approved to gauge petroleum and certain petroleum products and accredited to test petroleum and certain petroleum products for customs purposes for the next three years as of July 16, 2013.

This document announces U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) plan to modify the National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning Cargo Release functionality in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Originally, the test was known as the Simplified Entry Test because the test simplified the entry process by reducing the number of data elements required to obtain release for cargo transported by air. The test was subsequently modified to provide more capabilities to test participants allowing CBP to deliver enhanced functionality and to include expansion to the ocean and rail modes of transportation. This notice now expands this functionality to the truck mode of transportation and invites more participants to join the test.