Blog/News

U.S. Imports for Consumption of Steel Commodities as of March 2022.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced on April 25,2022 that preliminary March steel imports were $3.9 billion (2.8 million metric tons) compared to the preliminary February totals of $3.1 billion (2.1 million metric tons). The March change in steel imports based on metric tonnage reflected an increase in hot rolled sheets. Decreases occurred in used rails; electrical sheets and strips; and pipe and tubing. Increases occurred primarily with Canada. Decreases occurred primarily with Austria, Italy, and Germany. The year-to-date final statistics through February 2022 showed steel imports of 4.9 million metric tons compared with 3.9 million metric tons through February 2021. The largest commodity increases occurred with galvanized hot dipped sheets and strip and cold rolled sheets. Decreases occurred primarily in blooms, billets, and slabs; line pipe; and galvanized electrolyte sheets and strip. The largest country increases occurred with Mexico. Decreases occurred primarily with Brazil. The April report is scheduled for release on May 24, 2022. Yo may view the full report here: https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/steel/steelp_2203.pdf

Weekly updates are available through quota Bulletins which can be discovered on U.S. Customs and Border Protection official website or by clicking here: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/quota/bulletins

CBP’s Modernization of ACE Portal as of April 2022:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is modernizing the Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal) over multiple phases in 2022. The modernization effort will entail the transition of existing functionality to an upgraded platform, offering easier use and better performance. The ACE Portal offers users real-time access to trade data through features such as ACE Reports, ACE account management, and electronic communication with CBP and Partner Government Agencies (PGA).

As of April 23, 2022, CBP has modernized the ACE portal by implementing the CBP forms application which delivers the capability to manage CBP’s form 28 (request for information), 29 (notice of action) and 4647 (notice to mark and/or notice to redeliver). Here’s the quick reference guide which provides detailed instructions on the new forms within the updated ACE portal: : https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2022-Apr/Modernized%20Forms%20-%20Trade.pdf

To view the full plan for ACE portal modernization, use the following link:  https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/ace-portal-modernization

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us here.

References:

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/ace-portal-modernization

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2022-Apr/Modernized%20Forms%20-%20Trade.pdf

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/quota/bulletins

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/steel/steelp_2203.pdf

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/steel_index.html


The latest in TRADE: U.S. Customs and Border Protection – National Commodity Specialist Division May Webinars Schedule along with FDA’s Improvement Plan in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety.

National Commodity Specialist Division (NCSD) May 2022 Webinars have been announced by U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection in CSMS #51637091. You may register by accessing each individual link listed below (as the webinar date nears, you will receive additional correspondence from CBP).

The Cargo System Messaging Service looks as follows:

The Office of Trade’s National Commodity Specialist Division (NCSD) and the Office of Trade Relations is excited to present a series of approximately 40 commodity-specific, educational webinars to support Customs and Border Protection’s internal and external customers. The webinars began in February and will run through September 2022. Each webinar will be approximately an hour. The date and time will vary, so please be sure to check the time for each webinar.

To provide a more seamless experience, the webinar platform has been changed to Microsoft Teams, and each webinar will have its own link to join. The schedule for the May webinars is below. Please click on the webinar title to register. The link to join will be sent via email on the day of the webinar. We look forward to your participation!

The May schedule is as follow:

Other Electronics of Heading 8517
Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. ET

Breaking Down Bags of Heading 4202
Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. ET

Classification of Gender Neutral Garments
Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. ET

Cryptocurrency Miners
Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. ET

2022 Changes to HTSUS for Wood, Ch. 44
Thursday, May 12, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. ET

A Treasure of Headquarters Rulings on Jewelry
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. ET

Earthmovers: Where on Earth Do They Go?
Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. ET

The New Era of Smarter Food Safety highlighted by The U.S. Federal Food & Drug Administration in their latest webinar, held on April 13th, 2022.

The webinar’s focus was on the Outbreak Response Improvement Plan , which was originally released in December 2021 that attracted over 1,600 registrants worldwide.

The webinar summary reads as follows:

Deputy FDA Commissioner Frank Yiannas and FDA experts across agency’s human foods program were available to explain and answer questions about the plan with the goal of raising awareness, enhancing understanding, and building support. Stakeholders were welcome to provide their insights as well as ask questions.

This response improvement plan focuses on tech-enabled product traceback, root cause investigations, analysis and dissemination of outbreak data, and operational improvements. It is intended to work in concert with FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, which outlines specific approaches the FDA will take over the next decade to address food safety in the rapidly changing food system.

The plan was also informed by an independent review of the FDA’s structural and functional capacity to support, participate in, or lead multistate foodborne illness outbreak investigation activities. You will hear more about that review in this webinar.

The speakers:

  • Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response
  • RADM David Goldman, Chief Medical Officer, Office of Food Policy and Response
  • Stic Harris, Director, FDA’s Coordinated Response and Evaluation Network (CORE)
  • CDR Kari Irvin, Deputy Director, CORE
  • Scott MacIntire, Program Director, Office of Human and Animal Food Operations – West
  • Craig Hedberg, University of Minnesota, author of “An Independent Review of FDA’s Foodborne Outbreak Response Processes”

To view the webinar recording, you may click here.

Furthermore, FDA has been releasing a series of the “New Era of Smarter Food Safety TechTalk Podcast” episodes. You may find them here.

References:

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/313eb63

https://www.fda.gov/food/workshops-meetings-webinars-food-and-dietary-supplements/webinar-foodborne-outbreak-response-improvement-plan-04132022

https://www.fda.gov/food/new-era-smarter-food-safety/new-era-smarter-food-safety-techtalk-podcast