Three notifications involving electronic export manifest for ocean will turn from “informational” messages to “fatal” error messages beginning Jan. 21, CBP said in a CSMS message last week. Code 640 will appear when certain shipper party information is missing, code 641 will signal that certain consignee and ultimate consignee party information are missing, and code 642 will appear if the consignee or ultimate consignee party info country code isn’t provided or isn’t valid. “EEM submissions will be rejected until the message is corrected,” CBP said.

CBP notified export filers this week that it has officially updated an appendix in the Automated Export System with two new fatal error codes involving items classified under U.S. Munitions List Category XXI. The Census Bureau announced the changes last week (see 2412310011), saying AES will reject filings of shipments controlled under Category XXI if they don’t include a valid State Department commodity jurisdiction determination number.

The Census Bureau updated the Schedule B and Harmonized Tariff Schedule tables in the Automated Export System to accept changes to the new Jan. 1 codes, the agency said in a Jan. 2 email. Census said AES will accept shipments with “outdated codes” for 30 days beyond their Dec. 31 expiration date, but reporting an outdated code after the grace period will result in a “fatal error.” Census also said it updated the Automated Commercial Environment AESDirect program with the codes, and the program will also accept outdated codes during the grace period.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is asking users of SNAP-R, the agency’s export application submission system, to verify that the email address in their user profile is correct and valid to prepare for upcoming “enhancements” to the SNAP-R system. BIS said it’s planning to replace users’ current log-in ID with their email address “to enable the required two-factor authentication procedures.” It said users should update their profiles with a “unique” email address by Jan 31.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the 2025 hourly rates it will charge meat and poultry establishments, egg products plants, and importers and exporters for providing voluntary, overtime and holiday inspection and identification, certification and laboratory services. Effective Jan. 12, the agency's base time rate will be $73.04, and its overtime rate $89.68. The 2024 holiday rate will be $106.32, and the laboratory rate will be $105.68. FSIS said the export application fee will be $4.83 per application, up 82 cents from last year's fee.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list e 4-chloromethcathinone, a central nervous system stimulant, under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice released Dec. 27. “If finalized, this action would impose the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis with, or possess) or propose to handle 4-chloromethcathinone.” Comments are due Jan. 29.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is extending for one more year the temporary listing of seven fentanyl-related substances -- para-chlorofentanyl, ortho-chlorofentanyl, metafluorofuranyl fentanyl, ortho-methylcyclopropyl fentanyl, beta-methylacetyl fentanyl, tetrahydrothiofuranyl fentanyl and para-fluoro valeryl fentanyl -- in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice released Dec. 27. The fentanyl-related substance, first temporarily listed in 2018 (see 1802070043), will now remain listed in Schedule I until Dec. 31, 2025. DEA also released a proposed rule to permanently list these fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I, with comments due Jan. 29.

The Census Bureau emailed tips on how to address the most frequent messages generated this month in the Automated Export System.

The Bureau of Industry and Security is extending the public comment period for an information collection involving export licensees transferring an active export license to another party. The agency collects information from both parties to make sure shipments exported under the license won’t be diverted or “used for purposes contrary to the authorized use of the approved license.” Comments were previously requested in October (see 2410010014), but BIS is allowing for another 30 days, i.e., by Jan. 22.

The U.K. last week alerted traders that the country’s Customs Declaration Service currently can’t accept certain “special and diacritic characters,” including percent signs, brackets, pound signs, letters with accent signs, and more. The country is asking traders not to use those characters in their license applications “until the issue has been resolved” in the spring of 2025. If traders already have approved or pending license applications with those characters, they should contact the U.K. government so the license can be reissued or amended.