Monday Morning eBriefing

NCBFAA customs broker and freight forwarder members with operations on the Southern Border did their best to navigate three days of protests on April 11-13 impacting commercial traffic at the Texas Port of Hidalgo/Pharr.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on April 14 said it identified 10 additional Russian and Belarusian aircraft that were identified as possibly violating Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which was signed into law Dec. 23, 2021, established a rebuttable presumption that the importation of any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, or produced by an entity on a list required by clause (i), (ii), (iv) or (v) of section 2(d)(2)(B) of the Act, is prohibited by Section 307 of the 1930 Tariff Act entry of these items into the U.S. This rebuttable presumption goes into effect June 21.

Registrations to attend the NCBFAA’s 49th Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona, have far exceeded our expectations and the projected attendance is anticipated to be back to pre-pandemic levels.

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 has submitted comments to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) responding to the agency’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding the regulation of demurrage and detention billing requirements for ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators (MTOs).

Now is not the time to slow down on contacting your local Congressional offices to ask them to support the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) (H.R. 4816).

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:

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 Logistics Subcommittee has compiled the latest attached data in form of an Excel spreadsheet for your reference. The subcommittee invites members to forward service disruption announcements from the carriers and ports as soon as received to Merit Tremper by email (merit@merittradeservices.com) for inclusion in this Weekly Supply Chain Disruption Roundup series. Meanwhile, NCBFAA members are well aware of the chaos encountered every day in America’s supply chain. Container ports remain congested at levels never experienced. Truck drivers and equipment are in short supply, and railroad networks are tied in knots. The result is increased costs for both imported and exported goods, and that is if they can depart or enter commerce in time. As freight forwarders, NVOCCs, and customs brokers, you are surely getting an earful right now from angry and desperate shippers, and it is not your fault. However, NCBFAA urges you to let your shippers know that you remain in solidarity with them and are doing your utmost using your skills and tools to get them through this the best that you can. NCBFAA, meanwhile, urges you to show your clients that you are aware of the supply chain situation by sending them this Port Congestion Background Paper. You may also download this paper on your letterhead and adjust the text accordingly.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released its latest Monthly Update Briefing on Blockchain. Learn the latest CBP activities involving Blockchain and future information technologies here.

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) said its Draft Global Business Identifier (GBI) Evaluative Proof of Concept (EPoC) CATAIR Chapters (GE and GO) for future capabilities is now available. The chapters are in the section “Draft Chapters: Future Capabilities.” Here is the link.

James Fletcher Mooring passed away on April 8 at his Tierra Linda Ranch home surrounded by his family. He was 93.

Customs brokers and freight forwarders with international payment obligations in foreign currency can apply these three tactics to more effectively manage the volatility associated with foreign currency and thereby reduce cost.

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 April 22.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on April 23 will deploy the new ACE Forms tool. This enhancement will modernize the CBP Forms 28, 29, 4647, and Docs Required response and management functionality for trade users.

As you heard last week, NCBFAA is launching a brand-new website experience for members on May 9. In the weeks leading up to the grand reveal, we will be sharing updates with all of you, including sneak peeks of some new website features, like the improved Broker/Forwarder Directory.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has produced a public video outlining the general FDA import process for FDA-regulated products. The agency said the video was developed to “fill a recognized gap between foreign suppliers and domestic importers/brokers on the details of the FDA admissibility process starting from declaration through the final admissibility decision.” Prior to this video, information about the FDA import process was only available through public websites or occasional webinars, industry trainings, and individual communications (email), FDA said. The video is available here.

Lynn Fritz, a longtime name associated with the U.S. customs broker industry, was inducted in The International Cargo Association (TIACA) Hall of Fame during the organization’s Executive Summit in San Francisco on March 22-25.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) on March 31 released its report calling for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to improve its oversight of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE).