CBP addresses USMCA Phase I implementation

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced that, in order to provide companies with sufficient time to adjust to the new USMCA regulations, which took effect July 1, it will “show restraint in enforcement during the first six months of the new agreement.”

According to Christine Sohar Henter, NAFEM legal counsel, Barnes & Thornburg, CBP intends to create a Certificate of Origin form, similar to that previously available for NAFTA, to certify that goods qualify for the preferential treatment accorded to USMCA. Until then, she advises NAFEM members to include the nine, CBP-required items on their own certificates. These include:

Whether the certifier is the exporter, producer or importer

1. Whether the certifier is the exporter, producer or importer
2. Certifier’s information
3. Exporter’s information
4. Producer’s information
5. Importer’s information
6. Description and HS tariff classification
7. Origin criteria
8. Blanket period for multiple shipments
9. Authorized signature and date

This information, and more details, are available in CBP’s final USMCA implementation instructions.

NAFEM and its members advocated strongly for the new trilateral trade agreement that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) introduced in 1994. From contacting elected officials to attending congressional fly-ins to joining with allied associations to encourage rapid approval, NAFEM made sure its members’ voices were heard on this issue.