Monday Morning eBriefing

On Dec. 6, President Biden released the first-ever U.S. Strategy on Countering Corruption. The strategy outlines a “whole-of-government approach” to elevating the fight against corruption. It places particular emphasis on better understanding and responding to the threat’s transnational dimensions, including by taking additional steps to reduce the ability of corrupt actors to use the U.S. and international financial systems to hide assets and launder the proceeds of corrupt acts. You can read the strategy document here.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Dec. 6 published an ACE Development and Deployment Schedule update to the agency’s website here. “This is a notional schedule and subject to change,” CBP said.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking establishments currently exporting certain food products to China to voluntarily submit information to the agency’s Export Listing Module by Dec. 17 in response to new facility registration requirements from China.

NCBFAA mourns the tragic deaths of Peter Almen, 64, of DSV and his wife Ella, 56, recently in Chicago.

During a TSN call on Dec. 9, attendees discussed testing experiences with the Modernized ACE Secure Data Portal. Many of the TSN members who were selected to test the Modernized ACE Secure Data Portal described their experiences as not positive. Only one of the testers was able to successfully log in and navigate the portal. The rest were unable to log in or logged in to test any of the portal functionality.

The Senate late Tuesday, Dec. 7, by a vote of 50-47 approved the confirmation of Chris Magnus to serve as Customs and Border Protection commissioner. This will be the agency’s first Senate confirmed leader since 2019.

Due to extreme weather conditions in British Columbia, Canada, that have caused flooding, landslides, road closures, and other supply chain disruptions Canadian domestic truck carriers may need to transit through the U.S. to reach destinations in Canada, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said in a Dec. 9 statement to the trade.

The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee on Dec. 2 held a hearing on China trade policy, where Trade Subcommittee Chair Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) suggested Chinese companies are using de minimis to evade U.S. trade laws.

The USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) has posted an updated version of its AMS ACE Supplemental Guide.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has numerous Informed Compliance Publications (ICPs) in the "What Every Member of the Trade Community Should Know About: ..." series. As of the date of this posting, the subjects listed are available for reading or downloading. The first date shown is the original publication date. The subsequent dates, if any, show the revisions. Check them out here.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Dec. 9 published its five-year strategic vision to modern streamline, and further secure air cargo transportation operations. The Air Cargo Security Roadmap is designed to help TSA and air cargo industry stakeholders identify and address emerging threats and ensure the efficient flow of commerce, the agency said.

The ports of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach have again postponed their “Container Dwell Fee” until Dec. 13. The fee was previously set to take effect on Monday, Dec. 6.

December’s trending topics on Guidance on HR, Business Management and Operational Risk brought to you by Paychex:

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:

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 Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued a final rule, effective Dec. 9, amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to apply more restrictive treatment to exports and reexports to, and transfers within, Cambodia of items subject to the EAR.

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:

The ports of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach announced the postponement of their “Container Dwell Fee” until Dec. 6. The fee was previously set to take effect on Monday, Nov. 29.

The benefits enrollment process can be complicated each year – both for your business and your employees. Choosing the right benefits plans can be confusing, and there can be a lot of paperwork required. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to streamline the benefits enrollment process and make it more likely for employees to participate. By increasing overall employee participation, you are more likely to reap the benefits – from decreasing per-person costs to attracting and retaining high-quality employees.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Dec. 2 provided guidance on requests for liquidation extensions and protest processing related to pending litigation in the Court of International Trade (CIT) challenging the lawfulness of the Section 301 List 3 and/or 4A duties on Chinese goods in In Re Section 301 Cases, Court No. 21-00052.