Monday Morning eBriefing

The NCBFAA Customs Committee has provided some additional information to customs broker members as it relates to the Oct. 16 Federal Register notice for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) modification to the National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) Test for Periodic Monthly Statements (PMS).

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Oct. 31 published CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) updates with changes pertaining to the addition of the Altana ID Global Business Identifier (GBI) and the expansion of the GBI field character limit. CBP expects to deploy these changes to the Certification software testing environment on Nov. 6.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are tracking the upcoming Nov. 5 oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the legality of the IEEPA tariffs imposed since the start of this year by the Trump administration. In addition, the Committee makes customs broker members aware of recent Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance for import entry filings related to the Nov. 1 medium- and heavy-duty truck and bus tariffs and the duty offset for auto part imports.

Past NCBFAA President Amy Magnus will receive the coveted Centurion Award during the closing ceremony of the 53rd NCBFAA Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in Texas on April 15. Register today for this industry-leading event and join us in celebrating this remarkable and well-deserved achievement by Amy Magnus.

NCBFAA encourages Members to routinely check our special Government Shutdown Resources webpage for updates and announcements which are added as soon as they are received from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Partner Government Agencies (PGAs). The shutdown has now entered its fifth week.

NCBFAA on Oct. 30 announced a collaboration with BITE Data, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company providing trade compliance and tariff intelligence solutions for global trade professionals. Through this collaboration, NCBFAA Regular Members will gain access to the most up-to-date U.S. tariff and duty information directly through BITE Data’s digital platform.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a fact sheet reminding the trade of the requirements for filing an entry for dog imports. The fact sheet reviews the appropriate tariff classification. The HTS includes seven possible tariff classifications, ranging from U.S.-origin dogs returning with their owner to dogs imported for commercial sale or adoption.

The NCBFAA Export Compliance Subcommittee on Oct. 29 submitted comments to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regarding the expansion of end-user controls to cover affiliates of certain listed entities, or the “Affiliates Rule.” The association’s comments highlight the scope of the role that freight forwarders play, as well raising concerns that the rule may negatively impact the freight forwarding industry and broader U.S. trade competitiveness.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Oct. 30 that it has automated the process for applying for a new ACE Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal) top account with the Importer sub-account view, and if needed, trade parties with an existing CBP Form 5106 (5106 record) on file with CBP and without existing ACE Portal account access should now use the new automated application to apply for ACE Portal access with the Importer sub-account view.

A summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Bestway International, Bres And Saenz Agents, Rene Ortiz Villafane, and SeaVantage, which have recently joined our association. We're so excited to have these firms join our organization and we are happy to assist in any way we can! NCBFAA also acknowledges Regular Member corporate name changes for Blue Ridge Transfer, LLC dba BRL International dba Blue Ridge Logistics, Stroth & Associates LLC, and KLN Freight (USA), Inc.

A summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

The White House announced on Oct. 26 that reciprocal trade agreements were reached with the governments of Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, in which the countries will respectively end import tariffs on U.S. goods.

President Trump in a Truth Social post on Saturday, Oct. 25, said he will increase tariffs on Canadian goods by an additional 10%, following a briefly run advertisement posted on Thursday, Oct. 23, by the Ontario provincial government which cited former President Reagan’s April 25, 1987 “Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade.”

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are monitoring the upcoming Nov. 5 oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the legality of the IEEPA tariffs imposed since the start of this year by the Trump administration. In addition, the Committee has made customs broker members aware of the USTR Section 301 investigations involving Nicaragua and China’s implementation of the Phase One Agreement, as well as the Nov. 1 implementation of truck and bus import tariffs. Related Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance will be provided to our membership as soon as it’s received.

Join us for the 53rd NCBFAA Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa April 12-15, 2026. Our conference registration is now open! As we look forward to 2026, we want to make sure you don't miss out on the next extraordinary experience. That’s why we encourage all eligible attendees to register early for the 2026 Annual Conference to secure your spot and be part of the excitement.

The Custom and Border Protection (CBP) Area Port of Philadelphia on Oct. 24 notified the trade of a new East Coast Warehouse (Philadelphia) CES fee schedule. The agency began assessing the CES fees on Sept. 5 in accordance with 19 C.F.R. 118.5, Procedures for Changes to a Fee Schedule, and no public comments were received.

The Airforwarders Association (AfA) has urged the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a Federal Cargo Theft and Fraud Task Force, following new data showing that eight in ten AfA members are reporting a significant rise in organized theft and cyber-enabled fraud. NCBFAA supports this initiative by AfA and its members.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Oct. 30 it will automate the process for applying for a new ACE Secure Data Portal top account with the Importer sub-account view. For importers’ 5106 records that are managed by customs brokers, brokers should ensure that current importer contact information is provided, the agency said.

More than a dozen trade associations, including NCBFAA, asked the White House in an Oct. 22 letter to provide “clarity” on its policy to “unstack” certain tariffs which were recently imposed by the Trump administration.