US – CBP provides guidance on prohibited Burmese imports

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently posted guidance on the prohibition against importation into the United States of certain Burmese rubies, jadeite and articles containing Burmese rubies or jadeite. The posting explains that the President issued a new Executive Order (EO 13651) which amended EO 13310 [see article on the Executive order, above], to remove the general ban of “any article that is a product of Burma,” and, as a result, certain provisions of the JADE Act and the Presidential Proclamation 8294 of September 26, 2008 will no longer be enforced. As such, CBP is removing the JADE Act regulations at 19 C.F.R. § 12.151. CBP will no longer enforce certain provisions of the JADE Act and the Proclamation, such as the exporter certification requirement for the importation of “non-Burmese covered articles.”

CBP will continue to enforce the import prohibition of Burmese jadeite and rubies, and articles containing Burmese jadeite and rubies, as defined in EO 13651. For purposes of the import prohibition in EO 13651  the following definitions apply: 

(a) the term “jadeite” means any jadeite classifiable under heading 7103 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS);
(b) the term “rubies” means any rubies classifiable under heading 7103 of the HTS;
(c) the term “articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies” means:

(i) any article of jewelry classifiable under heading 7113 of the HTS that contains jadeites or rubies; or
(ii) any article of jadeite or rubies classifiable under heading 7116 of the HTS.

Exception to the Import Prohibition. Section 6 of EO 13651 states that there is no prohibition of the importation of any jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma or any articles of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma that were previously exported from the United States, including those that accompanied an individual outside the United States for personal use, if they are reimported to the United States by the same person who exported them, without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process or other means while outside the United States. 

Parties who are temporarily exporting from the US “any jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma or any article of jewelry containing jadeite or rubies mined or extracted from Burma” are advised to register those articles prior to export through one of the following methods: 

• CBP Form 4455 – Certificate of Registration
• CBP Form 4457 – Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad
• A carnet issued by the U.S. Council for International Business. This is more suitable for commercial samples and items for trade shows and exhibitions.

If one of the above-referenced documents is not presented to CBP at the time of re-importation into the United States, the importer must present documentary evidence that supports the claim that subject articles were exported and re-imported by the same person without having been advanced in value or improved in condition by any process or other means while outside the United States.  Without such documentation, the articles are subject to seizure by CBP.