US CUSTOMS SWITCHES HONG KONG TEXTILE EXPORTS TO ELVIS

US CUSTOMS SWITCHES HONG KONG TEXTILE EXPORTS TO ELVIS    U.S. Customs said that, effective June 15, the paper visa requirement for textiles and textile products exported from Hong Kong to the United States will be eliminated.
   Replacing the paper visa procedure is the Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS) Arrangement, which provides for electronic transmission of visa data to Customs by Hong Kong’s government for those products. Such transmissions will certify the product’s country of origin, and authorizes the shipment to be charged against any applicable quota. On May 16, the U.S. and the Hong Kong Special Administration Region of the People’s Republic of China signed the ELVIS Arrangement.
   A U.S. Department of Commerce official said that eliminating the for paper document requirement would hopefully speed up the international shipping process of such products.
   “It will make it faster, easier and less bureaucratic,” said Anna Flaaten, International Trade Specialist at Commerce.
   Another Commerce official said that shippers may use paper documents to accompany the electronic transmissions, but such an arrangement would have to be made with the Hong Kong Special Administration Region of the People’s Republic of China.
   “The government of the HKSAR must issue an ELVIS transmission for shipments,” said Customs. “Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted if an ELVIS transmission has not been received.”
   Customs said that the following applies to each ELVIS message:
                  *The visa number, in a standard nine-digit letter format, should be included in each message;
                  *Date of issuance for the visa must be included;
                  *Entry of a shipment shall not be permitted if the visa number has previously been used (except in the case of a split shipment) or canceled, except when an entry has already been made using the visa number.
   For further details pertinent to ELVIS messages, questions can be directed to Anna Flaaten, International Trade Specialist, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-3400.