Lack of COO Form Continues to Confuse Traders, Hiccups in Quota-Related Imports Noted on USMCA Call
The administration thought that allowing traders to certify that goods qualify for USMCA without having to use a specific form would be liberating, but traders continue to be confused about what to write, and wish there were a template to follow. There will be a template posted on the CBP website eventually, but it has not been done yet, a week after the USMCA replaced NAFTA.
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Callers on the last CBP USMCA call, held July 8, asked where they could see a template, could they see what other companies were doing, and asked about customers' demands for information about how a good qualified, such as through tariff shift, net cost, de minimis, transaction value, etc.
CBP said they have seen companies asking for that, but as far as CBP is concerned, they do not need that information. They don't even need to see what the country of origin is on a certification of origin.
An importer said, “We find it helpful to know where the part is from,” and asked if it was OK if the country of origin is on the certificate. CBP said the nine data elements are the minimum, and more information is OK.
Another trader asked if Mexican exporters or producers could write their certificates of origin in Spanish. CBP said yes, Spanish and French are both acceptable, but if CBP requests a translation, that must be provided.
The agency also reminded traders that the COO is not needed in the entry summary package. It's only needed during a CBP verification.
Another trader said she and Mexican suppliers are disagreeing on what Harmonized Tariff Schedule code applies to certain products, since Mexican authorities and CBP disagree. In those cases, CBP said, use the HTS of the importing party.
Some traders talked about error messages they're getting in ACE, even though they're following the rules. For instance, importers of apparel coming under tariff rate quotas and importers of sugar coming in under quotas both were having S+ indicators rejected. CBP said they need a correction from the International Trade Commission to make the Mexican sugar imports work correctly, and they're working on a general quota bulletin on textiles.
A foreign-trade zone had automobiles from Mexico rejected when it admitted the cars under the proper “S” code. CBP said additional coding in ACE has to be done, and the fix will be deployed July 11.