Almost two-thirds of the Thai products that will soon be ineligible for the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program are not currently exported to the U.S., Thailand's director-general of the Department of International Trade Promotion told Thai reporters. Keerati Rushchano said 147 products will be affected, including steering wheels, auto wheels, transmission boxes, plastic glasses frames, chemicals and latex mattresses.

CBP issued a CSMS message Nov. 2 detailing changes to eligibility for Generalized System of Preferences duty benefits as a result of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s 2020 GSP review. Effective Nov. 1, fresh-cut roses are newly eligible for GSP, while par-boiled rice is no longer eligible for duty-free treatment under the program. USTR also declared six county-product pairs ineligible for exceeding competitive needs limitations (CNLs), and will allow 24 country-product pairs that exceeded CNLs to remain eligible under de minimis waivers.

Weighted blankets that are filled with glass beads for additional heft are classifiable as blankets, not as quilts, in the tariff schedule, CBP said in an Oct. 5 ruling. As imported by Franco Manufacturing, the weighted blankets aren’t sized to fit standard mattresses, as are quilts that are used as bedspreads, and the quilts are generally filled with soft materials, rather than hard materials like glass beads, CBP said in HQ H305101.

A change in administrations could boost the National Association for Foreign-Trade Zones' rear guard action against a proposal for the USMCA technical fixes bill, lobbyist Brian Hannigan told listeners at the NAFTZ virtual conference Oct. 29.

The Office of Law Revision Counsel found that people who refer to Title 19 tend to know the substance of the provisions by the section number, so a reorganization that would create a change in numbers “posed a greater concern than the OLRC was aware of,” Law Revision Counsel Ralph Seep said in an Oct. 29 e-mail. The OLRC planned to reorganize trade laws from a chronological system to chapters based on subject matter, but recently announced it would hold off (see 2010220050).

Importers who use USMCA have been hoping for a technical fix bill so that merchandise processing fees can be refunded when post-entry claims are made, but the prospects of getting the bill done in the first six months of the treaty seem to be fading. “I haven’t had any discussions with [Oregon Democrat Sen. Ron] Wyden on this subject,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said of the committee's ranking member. He also said he doesn't know if there continues to be opposition to unanimous consent to the technical fixes.

Leather and other components from China used to make footwear in Ethiopia satisfy the double substantial transformation requirement to be counted toward the 35% content requirement for African Growth and Opportunity Act treatment, CBP said in an Aug. 18 ruling. The footwear was entered with a Special Indicator “D” for AGOA but CBP at the time denied the AGOA treatment. The importer, VCS Group, pursued a further review of protest over the decision.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is adopting as final an overhaul of its regulations on eggs and egg products, including provisions on imports. Many of the changes align the FSIS egg product regulations with current requirements for meat and poultry, FSIS said. Egg product processing plants will now have to implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems and sanitation standard operating procedures (SOP). The proposed rule also streamlines egg product labeling regulations, and adds new provisions on imports, including on marking, procedures for imports refused entry and re-importation of egg products returned from foreign countries.

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Oct. 19-23 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

CBP’s forced labor operations are being undermined by staff shortages that have resulted in investigations being suspended or not conducted at all, as well as a failure by CBP to conduct reviews of withhold release orders unless prodded by importers, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued Oct. 27.