New processing fees will apply to ATA Carnets beginning Feb. 1, according to the U.S. Council for International Business. The new structure will increase processing fees for all carnets and also will impose higher processing charges for continuation sheets, additional sets and the post issue of original carnets. Fees will remain the same for certain replacement carnets.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers, the two ports announced Dec. 27. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15, but have postponed it several times (see 2111030027 and 2110280031). The latest extension delays the effective date until Jan 3.
Rockley Photonics, a California photonics-based health monitoring and communications solutions company, won’t follow through with a sale to Hengtong, a Chinese power and fiber optic cable manufacturer, following Hengtong's addition to the U.S. Entity List this month. Rockley suggested the sale, which it described as a “data-communications-related technical sale,” could be subject to the Export Administration Regulations and require a Bureau of Industry and Security license.
The Census Bureau Dec. 20 emailed tips on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System. Response code 111 is a fatal error involving the U.S. state of origin code for Puerto Rico. Census said the state of origin code must be “PR” for shipments exported from Puerto Rico to the U.S. The filer should verify the state of origin code, the country of ultimate destination code, correct the shipment and resubmit.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 21 removed one person listed under two entries from its Specially Designated Nationals List. The agency deleted the entry for Rodrick Grech, also known as Roderick Grech, a Malta national who was originally sanctioned in 2018 for ties to illegal fuel smuggling between Libya and Europe. OFAC didn’t release more information.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers, the two ports announced Dec. 20. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15, but have postponed it several times (see 2111030027 and 2110280031). The latest extension delays the effective date to Dec. 27.
The Bureau of Industry and Security added 37 entities to the Entity List, including 34 Chinese research institutes and technology companies, for supporting China’s military modernization efforts or Iran’s weapons program. Other entities added to the list, located in Georgia, Malaysia and Turkey, supplied U.S.-origin items to Iranian defense industries, BIS said.
The European Union initiated a pair of anti-circumvention investigations into its antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain woven and/or stitched glass fiber fabrics from China and Egypt, consigned from Turkey, the European Commission said. The investigation will cover certain woven and/or stitched glass fiber fabrics consigned from Turkey, whether declared as originating in Turkey or not. The investigations were initiated after TECH-FAB Europe requested them in November, alleging that assembly operations in Turkey substantially increased after the imposition of the orders.
China updated its origin standard for certain goods shipped from Hong Kong to the mainland, the General Administration of Customs said in a Dec. 8 notice, according to an unofficial translation. Starting Jan. 1, 2022, China will implement an annex to the Harmonized System code 56.03. The annex says non-woven fabrics, regardless of whether they are impregnated, coated or laminated, have been changed from other items to this point in that the regional value component from Hong Kong is calculated as 40% by deduction or 30% by cumulative addition.
The Census Bureau is proposing a new country of origin data element in the Automated Export System to help the U.S. better collect foreign trade statistics (see 2107010043), the agency said Dec. 14. If the rule is adopted, U.S. exporters of foreign-produced goods would be required to declare the country of origin for their item through a “conditional” data element in AES, Census said. Exporters would need to enter the origin information whenever they select “Foreign origin” in the “Foreign/Domestic Origin Indicator field.” Comments on the proposed change are due Feb. 14.