Monday Morning eBriefing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) on June 26 sent a reminder to the trade about import filing requirements in ACE for organic entries and new organic HTS codes. On July 1, the AMS tariff flag code for the following HTS codes will change from AM7 (may File) to AM8 (must file) – with reject severity, the agency said.

President Trump in a June 26 Truth Social post warned that any northern European countries that impose a digital service tax on U.S. companies will “immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a proposed rule that would require foreign establishments that manufacture, prepare, compound, or process tobacco products for import into the U.S. to register their establishments and list their products with the agency. Customs brokers handling tobacco product entries may want to monitor the rulemaking and discuss with affected importer clients how the proposed requirements could affect supplier documentation, product identification, and FDA compliance expectations.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a June 25 message to the trade said it has updated certain validations performed on entries included on Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) declarations filed in ACE. Specifically, CBP said entries that previously resulted in error messages should be resubmitted on a new CAPE Declaration.

In response to the “Strengthening Customs Enforcement” Executive Order, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a June 26 message to the trade that it is “exercising its legal authority” to deactivate Importer of Record (IOR) numbers in ACE that have not been used to file entry for one or more years and that have no outstanding post-entry transactions.

The U.S. and Uzbekistan on June 25 agreed to strengthen their bilateral economic and investment relationship and to accelerate talks towards a faster conclusion to an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on June 24 it will conduct a test of a new electronic informal entry type 13 for merchandise entering the U.S. through the international mail process. The test will begin Sept. 22 and continue until concluded by an announcement published in the Federal Register. CBP said comments will be accepted throughout the duration of the test.

It is with profound sadness that NCBFAA notifies our membership of the passing of longtime NCBFAA and Chicago Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association (CCBFA) member Martin Joseph "Marty" Zima of South Elgin, Illinois, on June 14. He was 62. Marty built a career in international trade and customs compliance spanning more than 30 years, culminating in his role as Vice President of Customs Compliance for Kintetsu World Express.

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

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

As anticipated, the 2026 NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference on September 27-29 has reached full capacity and registration is Now Closed! We appreciate the strong interest and continued support from our members and industry partners.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 25 signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) with Australia in Brussels, Belgium. The CMAA is a bilateral agreement that enables both countries to prevent, detect, and investigate customs-related crimes, support judicial proceedings, enhance cooperation, and facilitate legitimate trade and travel through more efficient enforcement actions.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 23 issued two Withhold Release Orders (WRO) against garments produced by Needle Craft Ltd. and Casual Wear Apparel LLC factories in Jordan.  Effective immediately, CBP said its personnel at all U.S. ports of entry will detain shipments of these garments due to evidence reasonably indicating the use of forced labor in their production.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on June 18 initiated an investigation under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act against Germany. This investigation will seek to determine whether persistent underpayment for innovative pharmaceutical products by Germany is unreasonable or discriminatory and burdens or restricts U.S. commerce.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Polly Li Pan dba Pan Customs Broker LLC, Sam Logistics (Pvt.) Limited, and Suarez Brokerage Company, 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!

The Committee for the Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules, better known as the 484(f) Committee, has presented proposed changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) for July 1, 2026. Note that the changes are not final until posted on the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) 484(f) Committee webpage.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee has provided guidance to our Regular Member customs brokers if they are receiving a Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) error, “Invalid HTS,” from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) when filing in CAPE. The “Invalid HTS” error is defined as: “The line action date is not within the begin date and the end date of at least one HTS code on the entry.”

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 23 provided importers and customs brokers with updated guidance on the availability of new functionality for Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) that provides for the acceptance of entries flagged for reconciliation with no reconciliation entry on file, effective June 29. On April 20, CBP launched the first phase of the CAPE tool in ACE to process refunds of IEEPA duties.

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

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 18 issued updated guidance to replace the Feb. 6 CSMS 67647279, specifically regarding the importer instructions for requesting AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP retroactive duty refunds.