US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published CSMS #45309245 on December 29, 2020, providing updates regarding the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The update includes changes to the treatment of goods entered through foreign trade zones (FTZs), availability of merchandise processing fee (MPF) refunds, and the end of the restrained enforcement period.
On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 became law affecting USMCA’s treatment of goods entered through FTZs and MPF refunds. The Act authorizes CBP to provide MPF refunds on post-import claims, including reconciliation processing, for USMCA preferential treatment. Additionally, non-originating goods used in production processes in FTZs will now receive similar treatment under USMCA as was applied under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Specifically, the Act prohibits “non-originating goods used in production processes within FTZs from ever qualifying as originating goods even if all conditions under the general rules were otherwise satisfied.”
The period of restrained enforcement of USMCA ends December 31, 2020. CBP originally announced the restrained enforcement period of July 1 through December 31, 2020, in the USMCA Implementation Instructions. The period was meant to provide importers and others in the trade time to adjust to the new requirements of USMCA. However, the USMCA Implementation Instructions also stated that CBP would allow additional time—from July 1, 2020, through July 30, 2021— to respond to CF28s on automotive goods.
If you have questions regarding USMCA, please reach out to a Deringer service center.