International Trade Law News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a long awaited final rule in the Federal Register last week updating the tariff shift rules of origin for goods imported under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (19 CFR Section 102.20) and for the country of origin of textile and apparel products under(except for purposes of determining whether goods originate in Israel) (19 CFR Section 102.21) to reflect the 2007 changes in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The changes were necessary because the 2007 modifications to the HTSUS added or removed certain tariff provisions and transferred certain goods to different or newly-created tariff provisions.

As a result of these changes, CBP announced that it has re-opened the comment period for parties to submit comments on CBP's July 25, 2008 notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend CBP's regulations to replace the "substantial transformation" test for determining the country of origin of imported merchandise with the tariff shift rules of origin set forth in 19 CFR 102. CBP is proposing this change since it claims that the tariff shift rules are more objective and transparent than the current case-by-case process. The new deadline is December 1, 2008.

Labels: CBP, NAFTA

As has been widely reported, President Bush yesterday announced that despite the objection of the Congressional leadership he would send to Congress legislation to implement the U.S-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. The text of the President's transmittal letter to Congress was released today by the White House and can be found here.

Speaking of free trade agreements, the front page of Wednesday's Washington Post business section contains a story entitled "Don't Blame NAFTA for Downturn, Many Economists Say". The story notes that most economists conclude that NAFTA has been a "net plus, if a modest one, for the U.S. economy."

Labels: Colombia, NAFTA

By Ken Siegel

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today issued a notice in the Federal Register describing the Demonstration Project on NAFTA Trucking Provisions ("Pilot Project").

The FMCSA and the Mexican Seretaria de Comunicationes y Transportes (SCT) have previously reached an agreement which will enable 100 motor carriers of property (excluding hazardous materials) to operate in the host country for a one-year period. The participating carriers will be granted provisional operating authority which will expire one year after the initial provisional authority is granted. The results of the Pilot Project will be continuously monitored by both countries and reviewed once the Pilot Project has been terminated. Today's notice also indicates that FMCSA will not issue the provisional authority to any Mexican carriers until SCT is ready to issue reciprocal authority to U.S. carriers to operate in Mexico. Some of the highlights of the Pilot Project include:

• Participating Mexican carriers will be required to undergo a Pre-Authorization Safety Audit by FMCSA.
• All Mexican based vehicles must have a current CVSA inspection decal.
• All Mexican drivers must have a commercial drivers license, be able to communicate in English, and will be subject to U.S. immigration and cabotage rules.
• The service of participating Mexican carriers will be limited to international traffic.
• All vehicles must be certified to meet NHTSA manufacturing standards.
• All participating Mexican-based companies, vehicles, and drivers will be subject to FMCSA safety rules.
• The Mexican-based carrier will be required to have insurance from a U.S. based insurance carrier.

Labels: NAFTA