NCBFAA Requests Member Input to Prepare for Potential Oct. 1 Government Shutdown!

 WARNING! Our industry is staring down a possible U.S. government-wide shutdown starting Oct. 1 which will have an impact on how imports and exports are processed at the nation’s ports.

 In response, NCBFAA has already started internal discussions and planning for this potential government shutdown.

 Now we need your input! Please email us any specific issues you experienced during the last government shutdown with getting goods entered, cleared, and released for both imports and exports across all agencies, particularly those with direct hold authority (such as FDA, APHIS and FWS). We also need input from agencies where action on their part is needed for CBP to release shipments, such as EPA or CPSC.

 In addition, it is important that NCBFAA receives details regarding issues and concerns that you anticipate during a potential shut down in today's trade environment. Please be specific about potential pain points that could delay cargo clearance.

 We need your comments by no later than Monday, Sept. 18 (close of business). Send them to NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery at mmontgomery@ncbfaa.org. 

 CBP has started preplanning for a war room, and that war room is intended to include PGAs. NCBFAA has already started a dialogue with CBP and will reach out to the PGAs starting next week.

 Rest assured that NCBFAA has taken the lead on behalf of our industry to gather information and interact with those federal government agencies with authority over cross-border trade, so that you will be best informed on how to conduct your business during this impending government shutdown

NCBFAA Leads Industrywide Initiative to Engage CBP and PGAs in Event of Oct. 1 Government Shutdown!

Silver Spring, MD, Sept. 22, 2023 – Taking no chances with what appears to be a likely federal government shutdown starting Oct. 1, NCBFAA is leading an effort among 40 other trade associations to develop a comprehensive strategy with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) to ensure that legitimate trade is permitted to efficiently enter and exit our nation’s ports during a shutdown.

Specifically, the trade community requests:

• Private sector access to the CBP “War Room.
• ”PGA Presence in the CBP “War Room.”
• CBP HQ, Ports, and Centers must coordinate.
• CBP daily briefings with the private sector.
• Trade must flow both ways.
• All tangential trade functions must be considered essential.
  

“While we remain hopeful that a government shutdown can still be avoided, the current political environment in Washington is making us take a cautious approach,” said NCBFAA President Jose D. “JD” Gonzalez. “That is why it’s imperative for us to take action with CBP and the PGAs now in order that we can work with these agencies to keep our nation’s trade moving efficiently and securely.”

NCBFAA has already developed a special Government Shutdown webpage on its NCBFAA.org website in which timely informational updates related to trade from CBP and the PGAs for customs broker, freight forwarder and NVOCC members and their customers will be available.

“NCBFAA will keep its members informed with real-time information about what they need to know in order to perform their day-to-day business activities during the shutdown,” said NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery. “It’s all-hands-on-deck in our association.”

Read the entire Sept. 22 Joint Trade Industry Statement to CBP and the PGAs here.

Contact: 

Megan Montgomery
Executive Vice President
NCBFAA
Email: mmontgomery@ncbfaa.org

Christopher Gillis
Communications Director
NCBFAA
Email: cgillis@ncbfaa.org

NCBFAA was invited to be a guest on the Simply Trade Podcast, talking about the potential shut down.  Please have a listen and share across all socials.  This has been posted on LinkedIn and is being posted across NCBFAA’s other socials as well. Listen to the podcast here: https://gtc.trade/simply-trade-podcast/