Monday Morning eBriefing

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:

Trade policy restraint by G20 economies, as well as World Trade Organization (WTO) members more broadly, prevented a "destructive acceleration of protectionist trade measures that would have further hurt the world economy," according to the WTO's latest Trade Monitoring Report.

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 is notifying members that the U.S. International Trade Commission's 484(f) Committee has made changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) and Schedule B, effective July 1.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on July 1 issued two of its three highly anticipated U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) regulatory packages setting forth requirements on a range of issues.

Cynthia Whittenburg joins the NCBFAA Educational Institute (NEI) as Associate Director to promote and enhance the knowledge base and professionalism within this dynamic industry.

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) announced it will continue to accept electronically produced versions of phytosanitary certificates through Dec. 31, 2021.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated and deployed ACE programming to allow accelerated payment (AP) to be secured by a sufficient and valid 1A continuous bond provided the bond's effective date is on or before the AP request date.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has appointed Alberto Flores to serve as port director of the Laredo, Texas port of entry.

NCBFAA's 2021 Membership Directory has been published and will be arriving in your mailbox shortly.

The House Appropriations Homeland Security Committee on June 29 released its fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill, which provides $14.11 billion in net discretionary appropriations for Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

The Commerce Department on June 28 began requiring and collecting aluminum import licenses for all covered entries into the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revoked the Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for non-NIOSH-approved disposable respirators, effective July 6, and the EUAs for decontamination and bioburden reduction systems, effective June 30.

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:

Industry representatives of the 15th Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) have presented more than 550 recommendations over a six-year period to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) leadership, said COAC Co-Chair Lenny Feldman during a June 23 virtual meeting.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) officials joined with customs brokers in a stimulating and informative webinar on CPSC's 1USG Messaging at Import on June 18. CPSC panelists Deputy Director Sabrina Keller and International Trade Specialist John Blachere explained and clarified key elements of their newly implemented messaging system. Customs broker, Adam Lees of Geodis, who has experience with the messaging system since the original pilot was launched over a year ago, shared useful pointers and best practice tips. Mike Lahar of AN Deringer and chairman of the Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) kept the conversation moving as moderator, highlighting areas of confusion and concern.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has selected AnnMarie R. Highsmith as executive assistant commissioner and John P. Leonard as deputy executive assistant commissioner of the Office of Trade.

The Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association (FCBF) recently sent a letter to newly appointed Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Daniel Maffei outlining ocean container carrier practices which are negatively impacting members and has asked the commission to use its statutory authority to intervene.

NCBFAA President Jan Fields submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to its April 21 Federal Register notice to help the agency prepare a report to President Biden on the need for resilient and secure food supply chains.

The Census Bureau, which is tasked with collecting the nation's foreign trade statistics, told representatives of the U.S. export community that it has recently held meetings on a proposed rulemaking to clarify the responsibilities of parties participating in "routed" export transactions.