Monday Morning eBriefing

There is still hope that the GSP and the MTB will be extended this year. Stakeholders in Congress and the private sector made several statements over the last week regarding the GSP and MTB programs.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing changes to the requirements for importing horses. The Nov. 29 proposed rule is intended to better align APHIS regulations with international standards and allow more flexibility for both APHIS and the trade. The proposed changes include:

USDA’s Animal and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a final rule to remove restrictions which prohibit the import of live goats and sheep from countries at risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and scrapie. The agency based its decision on internally accepted scientific literature. In addition, APHIS is adding import restrictions for certain wild, zoological, or other non-bovine ruminant species. The changes will take effect on Jan. 3, 2022.

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:

The ports of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach announced the postponement of their “Container Dwell Fee” until Nov. 29. The fee was previously set to take effect on Monday, Nov. 22.

Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2113 was created on Nov. 23 and contains 2552 ABI records and 619 Harmonized Tariff Records, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Nov. 22 hosted a change of command ceremony to formally instate Cheryl Davies, formerly Assistant Port Director of Passenger Operations, as Port Director for the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) overseeing Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS), and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Ontario, Palm Springs, San Bernardino, Victorville and Van Nuys user fee and international air cargo operations.

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 USDA’s Agricultural Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Nov. 22 announced that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has stopped certification of all potatoes from Prince Edward Island due to recent detections of potato wart in two separate potato fields.

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:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provided emergency protocols in response to the flood situation in British Columbia, Canada, last week.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reached out to pecan importers to provide greater detail on the fees to be assessed on imported pecans to fund the Pecan Promotion, Research and Information Order. The fee took effect on Oct. 1.

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.

Congestion Excess Dwell Fee assessments at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which were scheduled to begin Nov. 15 for all containers that have been on dock at least nine days, will now take effect Nov. 22.

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) reached out to the administrators of the UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Code) to express its support for the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service’s request for a new code for sliced/diced tomatoes.

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:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released an updated Draft Cargo Release CATAIR chapter for future capabilities. The update includes updated SE30, SE31, SE50 and SE51 records along with updated output and input record usage maps. View the document here.

NCBFAA submitted a comprehensive response on Nov. 19 to Sen. Bill Cassidy’s request for feedback regarding the recently released Discussion Draft of the proposed Customs Modernization Act 2021 (ModAct-21).