On January 5, 2015, President Obama issued a proclamation requiring all agencies to receive import data via the International Trade Data System (ITDS) by the end of 2016. The ITDS system is a clearinghouse of information allowing various Federal agencies oversight into the entry and release process via US Customs and Border Protection’s ACE system. Of the 47 agencies affected by the proclamation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plays a major role through the regulation of emissions controls, pesticides and the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). In the past, importers have fulfilled EPA TSCA requirements by submission of a statement on the shipping documents or via a blanket TSCA statement. It will soon become mandatory for imports to submit TSCA data in an electronic format via ACE/ITDS. There are several new elements which will be required by your Customs broker to fulfill the data transmission requirements at time of entry into the United States. They are as follows:
- Commercial Description (e.g. – aluminum chloride)
- TSCA Declaration (positive or negative)
- Name of Qualifying Individual (authorized party who signed the TSCA statement)
- Telephone Number & E-mail Address of Certifying Individual
This information can be provided to the broker through a “traditional” TSCA statement on a transaction by transaction basis. While CBP has officially discontinued the blanket TSCA statement, Deringer is happy to provide our clients with our own annual certificate program. Please feel free to discuss this with your local contact or the Deringer Compliance Department.
Additional information regarding the Toxic Substance Control Act, including a link to the EPA’s TSCA Inventory, can be found at https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-under-toxic-substance-control-act-tsca. We encourage you to review this information and forward any questions regarding the clearance of goods subject to the TSCA to the Deringer Compliance Team at compliance@anderinger.com or call (518) 298-8281.