TradeLane

Starting in 2022, the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented complex new export regulations that have a widespread impact on businesses. The first BIS update to include the Advanced Semiconductor Controls regulations was originally published on October 7th, 2022. The update just celebrated its first birthday and was recently updated to refine controls. Processing units for artificial intelligence workloads were a notable target of the update, setting tighter restrictions on AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment and introducing new BIS entity lists restricting transfers with hundreds of foreign companies.

In the world of international trade, Canadian businesses often face the challenge of navigating customs duties, which can significantly impact their overall profitability. Fortunately, the Canadian Duty Drawback program offers a valuable opportunity to recover these duties and boost financial well-being. This program, often overlooked by many businesses, holds immense potential for companies that regularly engage in import and export activities.

The Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) is open to members of the trade community who demonstrate a commitment to practices that help to secure the supply chain. Training is a critical component of that commitment. CTPAT members must establish and maintain a comprehensive security training and awareness program. Personnel of CTPAT members must understand the threats to the supply chain and their role in protecting it. Typically, CTPAT members should have general security awareness training that they provide to a wide audience and specialized training that is presented to personnel in more sensitive positions.

On December 19th, 2023, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued ruling HQ H326926. A US Customs Broker inquired in the ruling as to whether an unlicensed offshore third party could be granted access to its ABI system to prepare customs entry data using shipment documents and other referenced information. In this proposed process flow, the US Customs Broker would review, analyze, and correct any errors or omissions in the prepared data before submitting a completed 7501 entry into the United States.

Like classification and country of origin, Customs Valuation is a crucial element of trade compliance. Valuation has always been a key focus of Customs administrations, as it will primarily affect the import customs duty and import VAT of imported goods, VAT refund of exported goods, and other important statistical considerations.