New Country of Origin Marking Rules for Goods Made in Hong Kong –

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President Trump signed Executive Order 13936 in mid-July changing the country of origin marking rules for goods made in Hong Kong – see below for a copy and paste from the CSMS of the new marking rules:

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Cargo Systems Messaging Service
CSMS #43633412 – GUIDANCE: New Marking Rules for Goods Made in Hong Kong – Executive Order 13936

PURPOSE

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance on the new country of origin marking rules for goods produced in Hong Kong based on the President’s Executive Order (EO) on Hong Kong Normalization (EO 13936, dated July 14, 2020).

SUMMARY

On July 14, 2020, the President signed EO 13936 on Hong Kong Normalization. The EO suspends the application of section 201(a) of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, as amended (22 U.S.C. 5721(a)), to 19 U.S.C. 1304, Marking of imported articles and containers. Appropriate actions must be commenced within 15 days (effective July 29, 2020) of the EO’s issue date.

GUIDANCE

The position set forth in this document is applicable as of July 29, 2020. A transition period will be granted for importers to implement marking consistent with this position for imported goods produced in Hong Kong. Such goods, when entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption into the United States, after September 25, 2020 must be marked to indicate that their origin is “China” for purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304.

Transition Period

CBP will grant a 45-day transition period, until September 25, 2020, in order to give the trade sufficient time to adjust to the new marking rules. During this period, Personnel from the Ports of Entry and Centers of Excellence and Expertise (Centers) are directed to neither issue marking notices, nor take further enforcement actions on goods produced in Hong Kong for purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Centers should take measures to inform accounts of these new marking rules for Hong Kong set forth in the EO.

RELATED DOCUMENTS:

Country of Origin Marking of Products of Hong Kong (85 FR 48551, August 11, 2020)
The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization (85 FR 43413, July 14, 2020)
1997 FR Hong Kong Customs 97-14662 (62 FR 30927, June 5, 1997)

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If you have any questions how the new country of origin marking rules will impact your business, contact David Hsu by phone/text anytime at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

CSMS – info for importing PPE and medical devices during COVID-19.

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According to Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS #42448725) titled: Information for Filing Personal Protective Equipment and Medical Devices During COVID-19.

Today the FDA provided an update for instructions to importers of personal protective equipment and certain other devices.

General purpose (non-FDA-regulated) personal protective equipment such as masks, respirators, gloves, etc or for industrial use (ie not to prevent disease or illness) is not regulated by the FDA, and as such entry information does not need to be transmitted to the FDA. The entry paperwork only needs to include the correct HTS code and the importer or customs broker should include the FD1 flag and “disclaim” for FDA.

On the other hand, products authorized for emergency use pursuant to an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) do need to have the entry information submitted to the FDA. During the time of the coronavirus pandemic, however, the FDA information is less than prior to the pandemic.

Goods that are authorized by the EUA include:

· Non-NIOSH-Approved Respirators: 80QKU

· NIOSH-Approved Respirators

· Face Masks (Non-Surgical)

· Diagnostic Tests Kits

· Ventilators

· Face Shields

· Respirator Decontamination Systems

· Extracorporeal Blood Purification Devices

· Infusion Pumps

· Ventilators

· Diaphragmatic Pacing Simulator Systems

The full text of the CSMS can be found here.

If you  have any questions about your upcoming PPE or medical device import or want to ensure you are in compliance, contact experienced trade attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-62988 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

New Update – Port of Anchorage, Alaska closed.

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I earlier posted about CSMS #42243866, in which the Port of Anchorage was closed Thursday and Friday due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19. However, CBP subsequently released CSMS #42247648 in which they announced the Federal Building at 605 West 4th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska that houses the CBP Area Port office (3126) is now closed for at least 14 days.

The CSMS further announces any documents (entry packages, FP&F payments, petitions, etc.) that would be sent to the 605 West 4th Avenue address should be submitted to: CBP Cargo Office at Ted Stevens International Airport (4600 Postmark Drive, Room NA207, Anchorage, Alaska, 99502).

The Anchorage Seaport and Cargo operations are still running and business as usual.

Hope the employee has a quick and speedy recovery!

CBP may approve additional days to pay duties, taxes and fees due to COVID-19.

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According to “CSMS #42097586 – Additional Days for Payments due to COVID-19”, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will now approve (although on a case-by-case basis) additional days for payment of duties, taxes and fees. As this was just announced, CBP will issue another message with more information.

Cargo Systems Messaging Service – Additional Duties on Imports of Steel and Aluminum under Section 232 – March 22, 2018.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released Cargo Systems Messaging Service Number 18-000240 with additional information regarding the imports of steel and aluminum under Section 232.

If you have any questions regarding this, please contact David Hsu at 832.896.6288 or by email at dhsu@givensjohnston.com.

CSMS #18-000240

Title:
Additional Duty on Imports of Steel and Aluminum Articles under Section 232 Date: 3/22/2018 11:39:25 PM To: Automated Broker Interface, ACE Portal Accounts, ACE Reports, Air Manifest, New ACE Programming, Ocean Manifest, Partner Government Agencies, Rail Manifest, Trade Policy Updates, Truck Manifest  Additional Duty on Imports of Steel and Aluminum Articles under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962

BACKGROUND:
On March 8, 2018, the President issued Proclamations 9704 and 9705 on Adjusting Imports of Steel and Aluminum into the United States, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1862), providing for additional import duties for steel mill and aluminum articles, effective March 23, 2018.  See the Federal Register, 83 FR 11619 and 83 FR 11625, March 15, 2018.  On March 22, 2018, the President issued Proclamations on Adjusting Imports of Steel and Aluminum into the United States.

These duty requirements are effective with respect to goods entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018.

COMMODITY:
Steel mill and aluminum articles, as specified in the Presidential Proclamations.

COUNTRIES COVERED:
March 23, 2018 through April 30, 2018:  All countries of origin except Canada, Mexico, Australia, Argentina, South Korea, Brazil and  member countries of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom).

As of May 1, 2018:  All countries of origin.

Please note this is based on the country of origin, not the country of export.

ENTRY SUMMARY FILING INSTRUCTIONS:
Steel Products In addition to reporting the regular Chapters 72 & 73 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification for the imported merchandise, importers shall report the following HTS classification for imported merchandise subject to the additional duty:9903.80.01 (25 percent ad valorem additional duty for steel mill products) Aluminum Products In addition to reporting the regular Chapter 76 of the HTS classification for the imported merchandise, importers shall report the following HTS classification for imported merchandise subject to the additional duty: 9903.85.01 (10 percent ad valorem additional duty for aluminum products)

Importers and filers failing to submit the required Chapter 99 HTS classifications with the entry summary information for imports under the specified Chapter 72, 73, and 76

HTS classifications for the covered countries of origin will receive the following reject messages:

E1 IQ10    LINE SUBJECT TO QUOTA

E1 FQ09   QUOTA NOT ALLOWED FOR ENTRY TYPE

E1 FQ05   BANNED IMPORT

E1 RF998 TRANSACTION DATA REJECTED

Note:  Quota is not in effect, but this ACE functionality is being used to validate entry summary transmissions and reject when validations determine the data is missing the required chapter 99 number.

Importers or filers receiving one of the reject messages above, who have researched their classification and dates to confirm the entry summaries were incorrectly rejected, should contact their assigned Client Representative with the results of their review.

Additional Information
Any steel or aluminum article subject to the Section 232 duties that is admitted into U.S. foreign trade zones on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, must be admitted as “privileged foreign status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, and will be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under the applicable HTSUS subheading.

Any steel or aluminum article that was admitted into U.S. foreign trade zones under “privileged foreign status” as defined in 19 CFR 146.41, prior to 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on March 23, 2018, will likewise be subject upon entry for consumption to any ad valorem rates of duty related to the classification under applicable HTSUS subheadings imposed by the Proclamations.

The merchandise covered by the additional duties may also be subject to antidumping and countervailing duties.

CBP will issue additional guidance on entry requirements for any products excluded from these measures, as soon as information is available.  CBP will also issue updated guidance if there are any changes to these measures, including any changes to exempted countries and any new requirements, such as quota requirements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:For more information, please refer to the Presidential Proclamations on Adjusting Imports of Steel and Aluminum into the United States, Federal Register, 83 FR 11619 and 83 FR 11625, March 15, 2018; and the March 22, 2018 Presidential Proclamations on Adjusting Imports of Steel and Aluminum into the United States.

Questions related to Section 232 entry filing requirements should be emailed to adcvdissues-hq@cbp.dhs.gov.

Questions from the importing community concerning ACE rejections should be referred to their Client Representative.