Duties set to increase on Russian products

Trade and Customs Updates

Customs Duties increase on Russian Imported Products

As a reminder, CBP issued CSMS 55688476 announcing that on 1 Apr 2023, customs duties will increase on certain imported products with a country of origin of Russia (RU) from 35% to 70%. This increase was originally published as Presidential Proclamation in the Federal Register on 02

Mar 2023.

Imported goods listed on the Presidential Proclamation that are “entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after 12:01 Eastern Daylight Time on 01 Apr 2023” will now be subject to the increased duties of 70%. These imported goods must be reported with their associated HTS as well as HTS 9903.90.09.

POSTPONED: Reporting Country of Smelt or Cast on Aluminum Products

CBP issued CSMS 55701614 on 30 Mar 2023 announcing it has postponed until 10 May 2023 the reporting of the country of smelt and/or cast on aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles where any amount of primary aluminum used in the manufacture of those articles was smelted or

cast in Russia. Based on feedback from importers, customs brokers, and software vendors, CBP has delayed the reporting to allow enough time for all parties to comply with the new requirement.

Goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 AM ET on 10 May 2023, importers of all aluminum articles and aluminum derivative articles from all countries of origin (except the US), regardless of whether Section 232 duties, quotas, exclusions, or generally approved exclusion apply, will be required to report the primary country of smelt,  secondary country of smelt, and country of cast on the Entry Summary.

The President previously announced in a proclamation published on 02 Mar 2023 that effective 10 Apr 2023, a 200% tariff will be imposed on aluminum articles and derivative aluminum articles where any amount of primary aluminum used in the manufacture of those articles was smelted in Russia, or the articles are cast in Russia. However, the 200% tariff will still take effect on 10 Apr 2023.

Aluminum products and/or derivate aluminum articles where the primary aluminum used in the manufacture is smelted in Russia or the articles are cast in Russia, even though the country of origin of the finished product may be another country, are not eligible to be entered under a General Approved Exclusion (GAE), or afforded in-quota or tariff rate quota treatment if entered or withdrawn for consumption on or after 12:01 AM on 10 Apr 2023.

Importers will be required to report an additional HTS of 9903.85.67, 9903.58.68, 9903.85.69 or 9903.85.70, depending on the products being imported.

Aluminum articles with the origin of Russia “entered or withdrawn” as of 10 Apr 2023 will require an additional HTS of 9903.85.67.
Aluminum derivative articles with origin of Russia “entered or withdrawn” as of 10 Apr 2023 will require an additional HTS of 9903.85.68.
Aluminum articles with origin of Russia “entered as privileged foreign merchandise prior to 10 Apr 2023” will require an additional HTS of 9903.85.69.
Aluminum derivative articles with origin of Russia “entered as privileged foreign merchandise prior to 10 Apr 2023” will require an additional HTS of 9903.85.70.

Comment Period for NMFS-SIMP Extended through April

In a Federal Register Notice published Friday, 31 Mar 2023, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has extended the comment period from 28 Mar 2023 27 Apr 2023 for the proposed rule to expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) and further clarify roles and responsibilities.

The original Federal Register Notice posted on 28 Dec 2022 (87 FR 79836) detailed the proposed rule would add species or groups of species to the Seafood Import Monitoring Program established pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). In addition, this proposed rule would amend SIMP regulations to clarify the responsibilities of the importer of record; amend the definition of importer of record to more closely align with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) definition; amend the language requiring chain of custody records to be made available for audit or inspection to add a requirement that such records be made available through digital means if requested by NMFS; clarify the Aggregated Harvest Report criteria; and clarify the application of SIMP requirements to imports into the Pacific Insular Areas.

Interested parties should file comments either electronically or via US mail as indicated in the Federal Register ruling and should be received prior to 27 Apr 2023.

TTB publishes myTTB User Guides

The first user guide provides step-by-step instructions for submitting CBMA claims in the myTTB Importer Claims System through the “regular” claims submission process. 

TTB has also published an alternate method for submitting claims in limited circumstances in

which the regular claims process cannot be used. See Industry Circular 2023-1.  The circumstances described in IC 2023-1 apply when the entry data required to be submitted in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for purposes of the CBMA import refund is inaccurate or incomplete and cannot be corrected, for example, through a Post Summary Correction submitted to CBP.  This alternate process is also referred to as the “manual claims process,” since it requires the importer to take additional steps to submit the claim and requires additional review by TTB.

TTB has also published a related user guide and ACE report instructions to assist importers with submitting these alternate types of claims in the myTTB Importer Claims System.

TTB encourages importers who plan to submit a CBMA import claim to create their myTTB account, activate their entity in myTTB, and authorize users to prepare and submit claims prior to the launch of the myTTB CBMA Importer Claims System on 3 Apr 2023.  Instructions on how to do so are available here.

For additional information about CBMA import refund claims, please visit TTB.gov.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have an MID for a manufacturer in Hong Kong, do we need to report the Postal Code when creating the MID or submitting the name and address under the new China Postal Code requirement?

When CBP deployed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Region Alert on 18 Mar 2023, this did not include manufacturers in Hong Kong Macao or Taiwan per CSMS 55754324.

Trade and Customs Reminders & Events

NCSD ‘Back to The Basics – What is a Men’s T-shirt and What Isn’t’ Webinar

April 11

One of 35 commodity-specific educational webinars to support NCSD internal and external stakeholders.

US Customs and Border Protection’s 2023 TFCS Summit

April 17-19

Sessions will include discussions highlighting the latest requirement updates and best practices for navigating today’s complex supply chain challenges.