Notice2024-07230
Republic of Korea Steel Imports Approved for the Electronic Certification System (eCERT)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 5, 2024
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentU.S. Customs and Border Protection
Abstract
This document announces that the export certification requirement for imports of steel products of the Republic of Korea that are subject to an absolute quota will be collected through the Electronic Certification System (eCERT). As a result, all imports of steel of the Republic of Korea that are subject to an absolute quota must have a valid export certificate with a corresponding eCERT transmission at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption. The transition to eCERT will not change the quota filing process or requirements.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24024-24025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07230]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Republic of Korea Steel Imports Approved for the Electronic
Certification System (eCERT)
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: This document announces that the export certification
requirement for imports of steel products of the Republic of Korea that
are subject to an absolute quota will be collected through the
Electronic Certification System (eCERT). As a result, all imports of
steel of the Republic of Korea that are subject to an absolute quota
must have a valid export certificate with a corresponding eCERT
transmission at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from
warehouse for consumption. The transition to eCERT will not change the
quota filing process or requirements.
DATES: The use of the eCERT process for Korean steel importations that
are subject to an absolute quota will be required for steel entered, or
withdrawn from a warehouse, for consumption on or after April 22, 2024.
CBP will automatically reject filings without correct eCERT information
starting May 20, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia Peterson, Chief, Quota and
Agriculture Branch, Trade Policy and Programs, Office of Trade, (202)
384-8905, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#95ddc4c4c0dac1d4d5f6f7e5bbf1fde6bbf2fae3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99d1c8c8ccd6cdd8d9fafbe9b7fdf1eab7fef6ef">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Absolute quotas are established by Presidential proclamations,
Executive orders, and legislation. See section 132.2(a) of title 19 of
the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 132.2(a)). On April 30, 2018,
President Donald J. Trump signed Proclamation 9740 (83 FR 20683)
imposing, among other things, absolute quota limits \1\ on certain
steel products of the Republic of Korea, pursuant to U.S. Note 16(e),
subchapter III, chapter 99, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS), and subheadings 9903.80.05 through 9903.80.58, HTSUS.
Subsequently, on August 29, 2018, President Trump signed Proclamation
9777 (83 FR 45025), wherein clause 7 provides that where a government
of a country identified in the superior text to subheadings 9903.80.05
through 9903.80.58, HTSUS, notifies the United States that it has
established a mechanism for the certification of exports to the United
States of the products covered by the quantitative limitations
applicable to those subheadings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) may require that importers of these products furnish relevant
certification of export information in order to qualify for the
treatment set forth in those subheadings. Where CBP adopts such a
requirement, it must publish notice of the requirement in the Federal
Register, along with procedures for the submission of the relevant
export certification information. No article that is subject to an
export certification requirement may be entered for consumption, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, except upon presentation of a
valid and properly executed export certification.
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\1\ Absolute quotas strictly limit the quantity of goods that
may enter the commerce of the United States for a specific period.
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The Republic of Korea is a country identified in the superior text
to subheadings 9903.80.05 through 9903.80.58, HTSUS. The government of
the Republic of Korea has notified the United States that it has
established a mechanism for the certification of exports to the United
States. On September 18, 2019, CBP published a notice in the Federal
Register (84 FR 49115), announcing that, on October 18, 2019, CBP would
begin requiring official export certificates issued by the Republic of
Korea for importation of certain steel products into the United
States.\2\ Following publication of the Federal Register notice, CBP
issued a message through the Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS)
announcing that filers failing to provide the correct export
certificate number would receive a warning message from the Automated
Commercial Environment (ACE) until January 1, 2020, at which time ACE
would begin to reject entries lacking the correct export certificate
number. Subsequent CSMS messages delayed the implementation of ACE
rejection until
[[Page 24025]]
further notice, such that steel imports of the Republic of Korea
without an export certificate received warning messages, but were not
rejected.\3\
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\2\ Only exporters may obtain valid and properly executed
certificates of exportation, which exporters may apply for online
via the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA) website at <a href="http://sq.kosa.or.kr/">http://sq.kosa.or.kr/</a>. The Republic of Korea has authorized KOSA to issue
export certificates. Importers should obtain these certificates of
exportation from exporters.
\3\ See CSMS #40196360 (October 10, 2019) (initial announcement
of the testing period), followed by CSMS #41021976 (December 17,
2019) and CSMS #42445519 (April 21, 2020). Full implementation of
the certificate requirement was put on hold, while the United States
and the Republic of Korea addressed issues related to the management
of the certificates.
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The Electronic Certification System (eCERT) is a system developed
by CBP that uses electronic data transmissions of information normally
associated with a required export document, such as a license or
certificate, to facilitate the administration of quotas and ensure that
the proper restraint levels are charged without being exceeded. The
Republic of Korea currently submits export certificates to CBP via
email, and in the administration of the quota, CBP validates the
certificate numbers provided by importers on their entry summaries with
the information provided by the Republic of Korea. The Republic of
Korea requested to participate in the eCERT process to comply with the
United States' absolute quota limits for steel exported from the
Republic of Korea for importation into the United States. CBP has
coordinated with the Republic of Korea to implement the eCERT process,
and now the Republic of Korea is ready to participate in this process
by transmitting its export certificates to CBP via eCERT.\4\
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\4\ An exporter's KOSA number functions as the eCERT number.
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Foreign countries participating in eCERT transmit information via a
global network service provider, which allows connectivity to CBP's
automated electronic system for commercial trade processing, ACE.
Specific data elements are transmitted to CBP by the importer of record
(IOR), or an authorized customs broker, when filing an entry summary
with CBP, and those data elements must match eCERT data from the
participating country before the subject importations will be entered
or withdrawn for consumption. Importers must provide the participating
country with their IOR number in advance of filing an entry, and, in
turn, the participating country must submit the IOR number as an
additional data element of information within the transmission for
eCERT.\5\ For entries filed through ACE, additional guidance on the
submission of the export certificate information is available in the
CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR), specifically
in the chapter entitled Entry Summary Create/Update, regarding the
record entitled Importer's Additional Declaration Detail (<a href="https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/ace-catair-entry-summary-createupdate-v88">https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/ace-catair-entry-summary-createupdate-v88</a>). If a certificate number is not translated properly, the entry
will be rejected.
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\5\ 87 FR 52015.
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This document announces that the Republic of Korea will be
implementing the eCERT process for transmitting export certificates for
steel product entries subject to the absolute quota limitation. The
entry summary data elements transmitted to CBP for merchandise that is
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after April
22, 2024 must match the eCERT transmission of an export certificate
from the Republic of Korea for the merchandise to be entered or
withdrawn for consumption. CBP will automatically reject filings
without correct eCERT information starting May 20, 2024. The transition
to eCERT will not change the absolute quota filing process or
requirements. Importers will continue to provide the export certificate
numbers from the Republic of Korea in the same manner as when currently
filing entry summaries with CBP. The format of the export certificate
numbers will not change as a result of the transition to eCERT. CBP
will reject entry summaries that otherwise comply with the absolute
quota limitations when filed without a valid export certificate in
eCERT.
AnnMarie R. Highsmith,
Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade.
[FR Doc. 2024-07230 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P
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