Monday Morning eBriefing

U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) Judge Richard Eaton in a March 27 order stated that Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with respect to “any and all unliquidated entries that were entered subject to IEEPA,” is “directed to liquidate those entries without regard to the 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.

Since Feb. 6, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has had over 12,300 certified refunds rejected because the recipient party did not provide CBP the necessary banking information. If a refund recipient has failed to provide CBP valid U.S. bank account information in the ACE Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal), CBP is unable to deliver electronic refunds to that recipient.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 27 updated the Electronic Export Manifest (EEM) ACE Exports Truck UNEDIFACT CUSCAR Cargo Report Message, CUSRES Accept-Reject, CUSREP Conveyance Report, X12 309, and Crew and Passenger PAXLST Implementation Guides (IG).

The NCBFAA Customs Committee has been made aware of an issue from last week with ISF filings that were filed prior to bill creation in which the ISF bill match was not issued after the bill creation. This was resolved by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as of 1 p.m. ET on March 24 and any filings going forward should be fixed.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made available to the trade an updated version of ACE Agency Tariff Code Reference guide. Changes made to the flags include the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) e-filing deadline is close. The process is complex and can seem overwhelming. The CPSC has provided many resources, yet many customs brokers are asking: How do I get started? How can I convince my clients that this is really happening? The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) has prepared a guidance pager on practical steps to get started.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Fangda Guo dba Greenlight Customs Brokerage, RBI USA Customs Service, and Trade Tariffs Refunds 226, 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! In addition, NCBFAA would like to highlight the new corporate name for Regular Member DP World Customs Brokerage US, Inc., of Middleton, Massachusetts.

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

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has created a new ACE Report to track rejected refunds “solely due to failure to provide CBP with the necessary banking information to effectuate the electronic refund.”

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) notified the trade on March 25 that it has postponed the 2026 Trade and Cargo Security Summit (TCSS), which was originally scheduled for April 28-30 in Dallas, Texas, to Sept. 8-10 at the same venue: Hyatt Regency Dallas. Note the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) will be held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27-29.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 25 announced the use of Pay.gov for all payments of duties, taxes, and fees on imported merchandise into the U.S. Virgin Islands. “In upcoming months, importers will be able to submit payments electronically via Pay.gov, marking a significant step toward fully automating the USVI commercial process,” the agency said.

NCBFAA is excited to announce that U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) Senior Judge Leo M. Gordon will deliver the Wednesday, April 15, luncheon keynote during the sold-out 2026 Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, on April 12-15. While he will not discuss any active cases, we anticipate a most enlightening keynote from CIT Judge Gordon.

Although our industry-leading 2026 NCBFAA Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, on April 12-15, 2026, has sold out, we want to take this moment to thank our generous sponsors who help make this event a success.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 23 said the Electronic Export Manifest (EEM) will be implementing an update to the Ocean X12 309 Manifest Bill of Lading details and P4 Port information, as well as the Ocean CAMIR B01 Bill of Lading transaction number and B02 Bill of Lading transaction record.

The Court of International Trade (CIT) on March 19 said in an order that it would amend its recent IEEPA tariff refund order to include those imposed on products from Brazil and India. During the meeting, which included Brandon Lord, Executive Director of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office or Trade, CIT and the agency discussed refund questions related to deemed liquidation, reliquidation of entries for which liquidation has become final, and the provision of refunds to those importers who do not take advantage of CBP’s proposed Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) functionality in ACE.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) on March 16 issued comparability findings for the fisheries of Grenada, Ireland, and New Caledonia. This action lifts the seafood import restrictions on these nations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Import Provisions.

The Census Bureau on March 19 removed various Port of Unlading Codes from the Automated Export System (AES), effective immediately.

Although our industry-leading 2026 NCBFAA Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, on April 12-15, 2026, has sold out, we want to take this moment to thank our generous sponsors who help make this event a success.

NCBFAA was disappointed to learn of the sudden retirement of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Assistant Commissioner for Import Operations Dan Solis, which became effective Friday, March 13. Dan has been a dedicated and trusted friend at FDA for almost three decades and NCBFAA wishes him the best of everything in his future endeavors.