Monday Morning eBriefing

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has established three new initiatives that the agency said will provide enhanced assistance to shippers, continue to improve legal and regulatory compliance of regulated entities, and focus on remedies to supply chain problems.

NCBFAA will soon open registration for the 2022 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) to be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill on Sept. 18-20. Mark your calendar!

Congress recently clarified that e-cigarettes and other non-tobacco nicotine products must comply with FDA regulations applicable to tobacco products. Starting May 14, manufacturers were required to submit a premarket application to FDA to receive authorization to market their product.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have continued to postpone their “Container Dwell Fee,” and said they will reconsider its possible imposition on June 24.

In CSMS #52176791, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) informed the trade that a new Form 3540-1 Notice of Arrival for Pesticides is now in effect. The updated form clarifies the existing elements and instruction. No new data elements are added.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on June 8 approved a settlement agreement between its Bureau of Enforcement (BoE) and Hapag-Lloyd AG where the ocean carrier will pay a $2 million civil penalty to address alleged violations related to their detention and demurrage practices.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Division of Northern Border Imports (DNBI) on June 30 (1-2:15 p.m. ET) will hold a virtual outreach presentation that will cover the topics of Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) Essentials for Filers and ITACS Messaging.

The FDA is alerting importers and brokers that the deadline for providing DUNS numbers for food facilities is drawing near. Letters to the trade warn that, at the end of this year, the FDA will begin matching the name and address associated in the DUNS number with the name/address/DUNS number in the FDA food facility registration. Mismatches will trigger the entry to be rejected.

Every customs broker knows that interacting with Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) can be the most challenging part of their job. The PGA data requirements are often demanding. And, on top of that, there are just so many agencies!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the completion of a 90-day pilot project to conduct drug entry reviews on a national basis with expanded staffing on a 24/7 basis.

Here is a summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable:

Some of you may occasionally receive questionable electronic communications which are believed to be part of phishing schemes. Always ignore and delete these communications!

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued Syria General License 21A, Venezuela General License 39A, and Iran General License N-1, "Authorizing Certain Activities to Respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic." In addition, OFAC will also publish updated FAQs.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome the following members who have recently joined our association:

In today's scramble to recruit the best employees, consider these creative recruitment strategies to keep pace with your competition.

NCBFAA knows that you as our members are doing their best to keep up with their day-to-day businesses under dire supply chain circumstances, and now add on top of all that the recent flurry of U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. What do these sanctions mean to your business (our industry)? Well, it can be an awful lot, depending on whether you work with customers that had export or import business with Russia prior to invasion.

In a June 14 letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), NCBFAA President J.D. Gonzalez raised an issue concerning the timing for filing electronic EPA Notice of Arrival (NOA) data for pesticide shipments.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) for the long-awaited update to 19 CFR 111 are in the works toward finalization. Specifically, the NPRM for the Modernization of the Customs Broker Regulations (85 FR 34836) and the NPRM for the Elimination of the Customs Broker District Permit Fee (85 FR 34549) were published on June 5, 2020. The comment period for both NPRMs ended August 4, 2020.

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee’s Logistics Subcommittee is regularly collecting data on the nation’s rail delays and port congestion that are impacting the supply chain and your business operations.