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Dear friends and customers,

The following is to inform you about the following FDA requirements:

FSVP Requirement For Entry filings:
Beginning July 24, 2022, FDA will end its temporary policy of permitting use of the entity identification code “UNK” in place of the DUNS number for importers in the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).
 
The entry will be rejected If “UNK” is transmitted for the entity number after July 24, 2022. If you have not shared your company’s DUNS number yet, please provide it to us, so we can update our database.  
 
If you still do not have a DUNS number, please refer to the below links.

For more information, refer to the updated Guidance for Industry: Compliance with Providing an Acceptable Unique Facility Identifier for the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs for Food Importers Regulation: Guidance for Industry 

Related Messages: CSMS# 51738135 & CSMS# 52290094

DUNS Requirement for FDA Registration:
The FDA is further extending the time period to obtain and submit a UFI until December 31, 2022.

The requirement to include a UFI began during this past biennial registration renewal period and was introduced in accordance with the 2016 rule implementing the food facility registration provisions in the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. The requirement applies to both new facilities registering for the first time, and those submitting a registration renewal. The UFI will be used by FDA to verify that the facility-specific address associated with the UFI is the same address associated with the facility’s registration.  At this time, the FDA recognizes the DUNS number as an acceptable UFI for food facility registration. 

Get your DUNS Number free of charge:
For US Entity: https://www.dnb.com/duns-number/get-a-duns.html
For MX Entity: https://www.cialdnb.com/es/numero-d-u-n-s/

More information of the FDA period extension.
FDA Extends Flexibility for Unique Facility Identifier Requirement for Food Facility Registration through December 2022.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our offices.

Sincerely,https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/31de22e?reqfrom=share

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Dear friends and customers,

This is to inform you that U.S Customs and Border Protection has released an importer guidance to assist the trade community in preparing for the implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which imposes a rebuttable import ban on materials or inputs from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region effective June 21.
 
This guidance is intended to complement the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force’s strategy guidance and UFLPA entity list expected to be published on June 21. Below are some of the highlights.

• Importers have 30 days after a detention (unlike the three months provided under the withhold release order process) to provide CBP with clear and convincing evidence that proves that the goods were not made with forced labor.
  
  
• CTPAT members may benefit as CBP will attempt to prioritize their UFLPA exception requests.

• Importers may identify additional shipments that have identical supply chains to those that have been reviewed previously and determined to be admissible by CBP to facilitate faster release of identical shipments.

• Importer should be cautious of factories that have dual sources of raw materials since it will be harder to prove no commingling. 
  
  
• This guidance advises what information may be required by CBP when an entity requests an exception. If an exception is approved, CBP would need to notify Congress and the public.
  
  
• Companies are encouraged to identify all entities in their supply chains and trace records related to the production of goods all the way to the material source; this will ensure that they do not import any goods made, in whole or in part, by forced labor, especially from the Xinjiang Region.

Please be aware that this CBP guidance document is intended to provide operational guidance to trade stakeholders and complements the UFLPA strategy guidance.  Importer must comply with the importer guidance within UFLPA strategy. UFLPA, Section 3(b).  

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our offices.

Sincerely,

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Dear friends and customers,

The following is to inform you that beginning June 29, 2022, the U.S. Commerce Department (Commerce) Aluminum Import licensing applications will require both fields of “country of largest smelt” and “country of second largest smelt.” Commerce defines the field for the country of smelt for the largest (and second largest) volume of primary aluminum as the country where the largest volume of new aluminum metal is produced from alumina (refined aluminum oxide) by the electrolytic Hall-Héroult process. Based on public comments in response to the preliminary rule, in the final rule, it was determined that importers/brokers would need time to gather the required information for the countries of smelt and a grace period was granted for these fields; importers were permitted to indicate “unknown” for one year upon implementation of the regulations.

 Commerce extended the temporary period to allow for license applicants to state “unknown” in the fields for country(ies) of smelt for the largest and second largest volume of primary aluminum until June 28, 2022. Commerce will begin requiring the requested information for these fields for license applications on or after June 29, 2022, meaning that filers may no longer state “unknown” for these fields after that date.

For more information, please visit the Aluminum Import Monitoring (AIM) website at: Aluminum (trade.gov) and CSMS #52046238.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our offices.

Sincerely,

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Dear friends and customers,

This is to inform you that on March 23, 2022, USTR announced the Reinstatement of Certain Exclusions from China Section 301 Tariffs.  This determination reinstates 352 of the 549 eligible exclusions; it will apply retroactively to October 12, 2021, and extend through December 31, 2022.

Your company may have imported products that are eligible for this exclusion.  Please identify your products HTSUS classification numbers in the list of qualifying exclusions and determine if your products meet the corresponding scope description in order to qualify.  If your HTSUS is listed, it does not necessarily mean that it qualifies.

We have attached an Excel spreadsheet with the HTSUS classification numbers that are eligible for these exclusions, and a copy of the Federal Register notice for your reference.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection will issue instructions on entry guidance, and we will work with you to implement these instructions.

The reinstated exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the product exclusion. In particular, the scope of each exclusion is governed by the scope of the ten-digit HTSUS subheadings and product descriptions in the Annex to the notice (this is contained in the attached Excel spreadsheet).  The reinstated exclusions will apply to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on October 12, 2021, that are not liquidated or to entries that are liquidated, but within the period for protest described in section 514 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

For more details, please refer to the following link: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/3115bf2?reqfrom=share

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our offices.

Sincerely,

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Dear friends and customers,

The following is to inform you about the upcoming "Memorial Day" holiday schedule observed Monday, May 30, 2022. U.S. Customs will be open for business and will follow the holidays schedule from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
 

As usual, please keep in mind that the below listed commodities will not be allowed entry on this day:
              - Textiles (Northbound/ MX-US)
              - Commodities requiring visa or special permits
              - Hazardous materials
 

For more details, please refer to attached PIN from CBP.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact our offices.

Sincerely,

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Dear friends and customers,

The following is to inform you about the upcoming "Holy Week" holiday schedule. U.S. Customs will observe the following hours of operation:

• Thursday, April 14, 2022: 6:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
• Friday, April 15, 2022: Closed 
• Saturday, April 16, 2022: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Hazmat pre-file on Wednesday April 13, 2022 and Hazmat entries on Thursday April 14, 2022.

As usual, please keep in mind that the below listed commodities will not be allowed entry on this day:
              - Textiles (Northbound/ MX-US)
              - Commodities requiring visa or special permits
              - Hazardous materials

For more details, please refer to attached PIN from CBP.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact our offices.

Sincerely,

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