CSMS Message: 96-000575

TO : ALL ABI BROKERS.

FROM : MICHAEL S ZZ-CRAIG

SUBJECT : LR C4 CODES & SOFTWOOD LUMBER

DATE : 07/10/96

TO : ALL PORT DIRECTORS AND ENTRY FILERS

FROM : DIRECTOR,
TRADE COMPLIANCE

SUBJECT: CHANGES TO CARGO RELEASE AND ENTRY SUMMARY
PROCEDURES REGARDING INFORMATION RELATED TO CANADIAN
SOFTWOOD LUMBER

PASS TO: ALL IMPORT SPECIALISTS, NATIONAL AND FIELD
IMPORT SPECIALISTS, INSPECTORS, ENTRY PERSONNEL, OTHER
CONCERNED CUSTOMS EMPLOYEES, BROKERS AND IMPORTERS

THE U.S. CUSTOMS SERVICE IS REQUIRED TO REALIGN CARGO
RELEASE PROCEDURES RELATED TO LUMBER IMPORTATIONS IN
ORDER TO IMPLEMENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE U.S.
CANADIAN SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT OF 1996.

LINE RELEASE
ALL C4 BAR CODES WITH THE HTS CLASSIFICATIONS OF 440710
AND 440910 MUST BE REAPPLIED FOR BY SEPTEMBER 15, 1996.
THIS DATE WAS ORIGINALLY SET FOR AUGUST 15, 1996, BUT
THAT DATE WAS NOT PRACTICAL TO ACCOMPLISH THE TASK.
THE CUSTOMS SERVICE MUST SEGREGATE SOFTWOOD LUMBER
SHIPMENTS FROM HARDWOOD IMPORTATIONS. THE CURRENT WAY
THAT LINE RELEASE BAR CODES ARE ISSUED DOES NOT MEET THE
NEW REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. FURTHER SEGREGATION OF THE
COMMODITY TYPES AND ISSUANCE OF NEW UNIQUE C4 BAR CODES
ARE REQUIRED.

IN ADDITION TO THE CHANGEOVER FOR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN "
CANADA" TO THE PROVINCE OF MANUFACTURE FOR EACH LINE
RELEASE APPLICATION, THERE IS A CLASS OF MERCHANDISE
WITHIN THE 4409 HTS WHICH IS EXEMPT FOR THE
U.S. CANADIAN SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT, SPECIFICALLY
44091040-44091050 (WOODEN MOLDINGS) AND 44091060-
44091065 (WOODEN DOWELS). THESE EXEMPTED COMMODITIES
MUST ALSO BE UNIQUELY IDENTIFIED.

IN THE INTEREST OF DEVELOPING A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO
HANDLE THE CONVERSION OF LINE RELEASE C4 BAR CODES
APPLICATIONS FOR COMMODITIES EFFECTED BY THE CANADIAN
SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURES WILL
APPLY:

REGARDING THE ISSUE OF PROVINCE OF ORIGIN FOR LINE
RELEASE LUMBER C4 CODES:

1 ALL NEW APPLICATIONS FOR SHIPMENTS OF CANADIAN
SOFTWOOD LUMBER

APPLICATIONS MUST COMPLY WITH THE PROVINCE OF
MANUFACTURE REQUIREMENTS.

A SEPARATE APPLICATION WILL BE REQUIRED FOR EACH
PROVINCE OF MANUFACTURE. AN ACTUAL INVOICE OR A
REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF AN ACTUAL INVOICE MUST
ACCOMPANY THE APPLICATION.

2. RE-APPLICATIONS FOR SHIPMENTS OF CANADIAN SOFTWOOD
LUMBER.

A> IF THE APPLICANT ALREADY HAS AN EXISTING C4
BARCODE, AND THE RE-APPLICATION IS TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY
OF ORIGIN TO ONLY ONE PROVINCE OF ORIGIN, THE APPLICANT
MUST SUBMIT :
- THE CURRENT C4 BARCODE
- A COVER LETTER REQUESTING THE CHANGE OF
COUNTRY CODE TO ONE PROVINCE OF MANUFACTURE. THE
LETTER MUST STATE:
"CANADIAN SOFTWOOD CONVERSION -SINGLE
PROVINCE"
- A COPY OF THE OLD C4 LINE RELEASE APPLICATION,
ANNOTATED WITH THE ONE PROVINCE OF
MANUFACTURE.
- NO INVOICE WILL BE REQUIRED

B> IF THE APPLICANT ALREADY HAS AN EXISTING C4
BARCODE, AND THE RE-APPLICATION IS TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY
OF ORIGIN TO MORE THAN ONE PROVINCE OF ORIGIN, THE
APPLICANT MUST SUBMIT :
- THE CURRENT C4 BARCODE
- A COVER LETTER REQUESTING THE CHANGE OF
COUNTRY CODE TO MORE THAN ONE PROVINCE OF
MANUFACTURE. THE LETTER MUST STATE:
"CANADIAN SOFTWOOD CONVERSION REQUEST-
MULTIPLE PROVINCES"
- ONE COPY OF THE OLD C4 LINE RELEASE
APPLICATION FOR EACH PROVINCE OF MANUFACTURE, E.G..
5 PROVINCES REQUIRES 5 COPIES OF THE APPLICATION.
THE PROPER PROVINCE OF MANUFACTURE MUST BE ANNOTATED
ON THE INDIVIDUAL COPY OF THE APPLICATION.
- ACTUAL INVOICES OR A REPRESENTATIVE
SAMPLES OF AN ACTUAL INVOICE MUST ACCOMPANY THE
APPLICATION.

3 EXEMPTED LUMBER PRODUCTS

NEW APPLICATIONS FOR LINE RELEASE
THE STANDARD LINE RELEASE APPLICATION PROCEDURES
SHALL APPLY.

RE-APPLICATIONS FOR LINE RELEASE FOR EXEMPTED
LUMBER PRODUCTS

ALL LINE RELEASE RE-APPLICATIONS FOR WOOD PRODUCTS
(HTS 4409) WHICH ARE EXEMPT FROM THE U.S. CANADIAN SOFTWOOD LUMBER
AGREEMENT, SPECIFICALLY:

44091040-44091050 (WOODEN MOLDINGS)
44091060-44091065 (WOODEN DOWELS)
440920 AND UP - ALL NONCONIFEROUS WOOD PRODUCTS

RE-APPLICATION PACKAGES MUST INCLUDE:
- THE CURRENT C4 BARCODE
- A COVER LETTER. THE LETTER MUST STATE:
"COMMODITY IS EXEMPT FROM U.S. CANADIAN
SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT"

ALL APPLICATIONS FOR LINE RELEASE PRIVILEGES MUST BE
SUBMITTED BY THE IMPORTER, OR THEIR AUTHORIZED AGENT AS
DEFINED IN 19 CFR 142.42.

DUE TO RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS, ALL LINE RELEASE
APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE CUSTOMS PORT OF
ENTRY AND WILL BE REVIEWED FOR COMPLETENESS. TO AVOID
ANY CONFUSION LINE RELEASE APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE SENT
DIRECTLY TO CUSTOMS HEADQUARTERS.

PERMIT PORTS
THE U.S. CANADIAN SOFTWOOD LUMBER AGREEMENT OF 1996 DOES
APPLY TO SHIPMENTS WHICH ARE CLEARED AT PERMIT PORTS.
SPECIAL APPLICATIONS FOR NEW PERMITS (IMMEDIATE DELIVERY
PROCEDURES) FOR SOFTWOOD LUMBER MUST BE APPROVED BY THE
APPROPRIATE AREA PORT DIRECTOR.

PRO FORMA INVOICES
PRO FORMA INVOICES ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO BE FILED
WITH THE APPLICATION WHEN APPLYING FOR LINE RELEASE
PRIVILEGES. IF AN REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE OF AN INVOICE IS SIGNED BY
THE SHIPPER OR EXPORTER, IT IS NOT A "PRO FORMA INVOICE", THEREFORE IT
CAN BE SUBMITTED WITH THE APPLICATION. PRO FORMA INVOICES CAN CONTINUE
TO BE USED FOR ALL CARGO RELEASE TRANSACTIONS, INCLUDING IMMEDIATE
DELIVERY AT PERMIT PORTS. FOR LINE RELEASE, PRO FORMA
INVOICES CAN BE ATTACHED TO THE C4 CODE AND TRUCK- RAIL MANIFEST FOR
PROCESSING. IF THE PRO FORMA INVOICES ARE FOR CANADIAN SOFTWOOD LUMBER
THEY MUST BE PROPERLY ANNOTATED WITH THE PROVINCE OF MANUFACTURE.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE PORTS:

THE PORTS MUST DATE STAMP, REVIEW, INITIAL AND SEGREGATE
THESE APPLICATIONS. FOR THOSE APPLICATIONS WHICH ARE RE-
APPLYING SOLELY TO CONVERT TO THE NEW PROVINCE CODES, OR
FOR THE EXEMPTED MERCHANDISE, NO INTENSIVE RESEARCH IS
REQUIRED. HOWEVER, A CURSORY REVIEW OF THESE
APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE PERFORMED TO SEE IF THESE BASIC
REQUIREMENTS HAVE BEEN MET.

IF AN APPLICATION IS FOR NEW BUSINESS, OR IF ANY
SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE IS BEING MADE, I.E. COMPANY NAME
CHANGE, ENTRY FILER CHANGE, ETC., FULL RESEARCH SHOULD
BE PREFORMED PRIOR TO ROUTING THE LOADING SHEET TO
HEADQUARTERS.

ALL APPLICATIONS WILL BE SENT BY U.S. MAIL FROM THE LINE
RELEASE PORT COORDINATORS TO:

U.S. CUSTOMS
1301 CONSTITUTION AVE. NW
ROOM 2328
WASHINGTON, DC 20229
ATTN: LR LUMBER CONVERSION TEAM

THE APPLICATIONS WILL PROCESSED ON A FIRST-IN, FIRST OUT
BASIS. DUE TO THE SHEER VOLUME, IF AN APPLICATION
CONTAINS ERRORS OR OTHER ANOMALIES, THEY WILL BE
RETURNED TO THE PORT FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION.

ALL NEWLY ASSIGNED C4 CODES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS WILL
BE RETURNED BY U.S. MAIL TO THE APPROPRIATE LINE RELEASE
PORT COORDINATOR FOR COPYING AND FINAL DISTRIBUTION TO
THE APPLICANT. INFORMATION WILL NOT BE FAXED.

QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS PROCEDURE CAN BE REFERRED TO THE
OFFICE OF CARGO CONTROL AT (202) 927-0510.