Monday Morning eBriefing

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.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced it will conduct a beta pilot to assess the electronic filing of data from a CPSC certificate of compliance for consumer products regulated by the Commission. In a June 10 Federal Register announcement, CPSC invited up to 50 importers/customs brokers to participate in the pilot. In addition, CPSC will consider applications for up to nine participants to volunteer for an IT pilot project to test the technical aspects of the e-filing program.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will complete the rollout of its ACE Truck Manifest Modernization (TMM), also known as Phase 2, by the end of June.

If you use the NCBFAA website to purchase products or make payments, the “I Want To” section of the hamburger menu/main navigation will display links to important membership maintenance pages, including conference and training registration as well as new member applications.

In addition to the weekly email newsletter you receive from NCBFAA, the Monday Morning eBriefings (MMeBs) are also featured on the new website with an updated layout that highlights key information and makes it easier to find resources like the Weekly Supply Chain Disruption Roundup and upcoming industry events. The Monday Morning eBriefing page also features new categories that help you to find the news that’s most relevant to you and your work.

While the member benefits and toolkits on the NCBFAA website aren’t new, they’ve all gotten a facelift and a more prominent position in the main navigation. You can visit the Membership Benefits page or find all these resources in the Membership Benefits section of the hamburger menu.