Monday Morning eBriefing

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a final rule establishing a quota system for the production or importation of bulk hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), effective Jan. 1, 2022. The rule implements the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, passed last December, which mandates the phasedown of HFCs by 85 percent by 2036. HFCs are greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosols, and other products.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 28 released its latest Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Development and Deployment Schedule.

During the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) on Sept. 19-21, a giant push was made by members—both in-person and virtual—on Capitol Hill to make the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) of 2021 (H.R. 4816) permanent law.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made available on its website here a list of partner government agencies (PGAs) involved in imports and exports as part of the Border Interagency Executive Council (BIEC).

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Lacey Act Phase VI implementation took effect Oct. 1. At this time, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has not loaded PGA flags into ACE. Customs brokers are still under the obligation to transmit the Lacey Act data set for goods subject to the new requirements.

NCBFAA has joined other industry associations and companies in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that supports the Commerce Department’s preliminary decision regarding the interpretation of the reference price for fresh tomatoes from Mexico.

NCBFAA mourns the recent passing of Albert Saphir, a longtime consultant and friend to many practitioners in the customs broker, freight forwarder, and NVOCC industry. He died on Sept. 20 at the age of 63 following a courageous, three-year battle with cancer.

The certification requirement for certain imports of textile and apparel goods from Mexico are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under a tariff preference level (TPL) through the Electronic Certification System (eCERT), effective Oct. 5.

NCBFAA has retained Lenny Feldman as General Counsel and Ashley Craig as Transportation and Logistics Counsel, effective Oct. 1.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a message to the industry on Sept. 21 that Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2108 was created on Aug. 31 and contains 28,924 ABI records and 4,989 harmonized tariff records.

With the threat of a partial federal government shutdown due to the budget process, both chambers on Capitol Hill agreed to a Dec 3 date for funding provisions, but with some differences, while the Senate is currently considering its version.

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei addressed the NCBFAA annual Government Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 20, discussing conditions in the trade, Commission actions and initiatives in response to events of the past year, and possible priorities for the agency moving forward.

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.

On Oct. 1, customs brokers will see new tariff flags for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Lacey, requiring transmission of a Lacey Act declaration or a valid disclaim for products classified in these tariff categories.

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 NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) on Sept. 19-21 in Washington, D.C., was a resounding success! More than 100 members and government officials attended both in-person and virtually, making this year’s GAC truly an exciting and informative event.

Attendees at the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) listened to Dana Baicco, commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), describe her agency’s struggles to modernize its import surveillance – an effort that began in 2008.

Alan Estevez, President Biden’s pick to lead the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), held his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on Sept. 21.

AnnMarie Highsmith, Executive Assistant Commissioner for Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Trade, told NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) attendees in a prerecorded message on Sept. 20 that the customs broker industry’s collaboration with the agency is “essential to forging the future we have envisioned together.”

President Biden’s recent Executive Order encourages the FMC to “vigorously enforce” the prohibition of unjust and unreasonable practices from the ocean carriers and has eyed the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to take an increasing leadership role to investigate and fix this national supply chain breakdown.