The submission period for submitting the 2018 Triennial Status Report and Fee is now open.  Every licensed customs broker is required to file a status report and pay a $100 fee to CBP every three years.  The deadline for filing and payment is February 28, 2018.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for fiscal year 2018 will adjust and increase several user fees. Of particular note is the increase in the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF).

Effective November 6, 2017, the value of imported cotton will be raised to $0.011510 per kilogram, an approximate increase of 4.5% from the current value of $0.011012 per kilogram.

Vandegrift’s Toronto office will be closed Monday, October 9, 2017 for Canadian Thanksgiving.

CBP recently published CSMS #17-000609 which states that any responsible party with a single documented Wood Packing Material (WPM) violation may be issued a penalty under the regulations.  This notice represents a change to the previously stated threshold of five documented violations prior to the issuance of a penalty.

We have seen a sharp increase in the number of insufficient bond messages returned from CBP recently.  In some cases, there has been no lead time requiring the importer to request an immediate increase from the surety in order to continue entry processing.

Vandegrift is committed to ongoing C-TPAT awareness for our clients and business partners. CBP continues to provide updated information on the program as well as its benefits.

The Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products Act of 2010 established emission standards for formaldehyde from composite wood products and directed the EPA to finalize a rule implementing and enforcing several provisions covering composite wood.

The new Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) will become effective on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. The FSVP is an FDA program that requires importers to verify that their foreign suppliers are producing food in a manner that meets public safety regulations and ensures that the supplier’s food is not adulterated or misbranded with respect to allergen labeling.

Vandegrift is proud to announce the addition of Renee Predki to our growing drawback department. Renee joins the team as the Director of Drawback Operations. She is a strong force in the drawback industry bringing over 26 year of knowledge and experience in managing multi-million dollar recovery programs and trade compliance.

Statistics Canada has provided the 10-digit Concordance Tables for the 2017 tariff.  Descriptions are not provided with the table at this time but should be available by January 2017.