Monday Morning eBriefing

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!

NCBFAA Transportation Counsel Ashley Craig, along with Transportation Committee members Melzie Wilson and Rich Roche, held a webinar, “OSRA 22 – What You Need to Know,” on June 28 which was attended by hundreds of Regular Members.

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 July 8.

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!

The NCBFAA Educational Institute (NEI) invites all global logistics professionals to its 8th Annual Global Trade Educational Conference (G·TEC). This two-day event at the InterContinental Magnificent Mile Hotel in Chicago on Aug. 1-2 will give customs brokers, freight forwarders, NVOCCs, OTI, service providers, importers, exporters, and all global logistics professionals an opportunity to update themselves on industry developments and connect with colleagues new and old.

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

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:

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.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched the “Green Trade Strategy,” a framework to incentivize green trade, strengthen the agency’s environmental enforcement posture, accelerate green innovation, and improve climate resilience and resource efficiency.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued orders June 24 to deny U.S. export privileges of three more Russian airlines due to ongoing apparent violations of export controls imposed on Russia by the Commerce Department.

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

Matthew Axelrod, the Commerce Department’s Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement, isn’t sugar-coating the Administration’s goal to turn up the heat against those individuals and companies that are found to be in violation of the nation’s export control regulations by using stiffer penalties and other administrative actions.

Mullins International Academy: The ABCs of Customs Brokerage Online 2022, Cohort 19, July 11. Register here.

The signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts the Employee Retention Tax Credit, retroactively ending the program for most businesses on Sept. 30, 2021. The IRS also released guidance on the program's retroactive termination.

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.

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:

NCBFAA Wants You—our Regular Members—to become more active in your association by taking part in one of our myriad Committees and Subcommittees. Every Regular Member can make a markable difference in how our industry operates now and well into the future through their participation in NCBFAA! So, what are you waiting for?

President Biden signed a National Security Memorandum to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related harmful fishing practices. The memorandum outlines actions the Administration will take to combat IUU fishing. This includes an upcoming proposed rule from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to enhance and strengthen the agency’s ability to address IUU fishing activities and combat forced labor in the supply chain.

A delegation of NCBFAA leaders who were in Washington, D.C. for the quarterly association board meeting met with several key House lawmakers on Capitol Hill on June 23 to thank them for their attention to international trade and bring them up to date on our industry’s current issues.

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.