Monday Morning eBriefing

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard met on March 18 in Washington, D.C., to start bilateral technical discussions in advance of the USMCA Joint Review on July 1.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome FDA Specialist, McQuate Brokerage Services, and Traverse Intermodal Solutions, which have recently joined our association. We're so excited to have these firms join our organization and we are happy to assist in any way we can!

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 17 deployed two new drawback error messages deployed to the ACE Certification (CERT) environment. This update supports Proclamation 10984 Adjusting Imports of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Parts, and Buses into the U.S.

This first release of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) manifest modernization enhancement is currently in the ACE certification environment (CERT). Trade software developers may send transmissions to confirm expected responses. Deployment to the ACE production environment (PROD) is scheduled for April 25, 2026.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 18 announced to the trade that it has updated the ACE Document Image System (DIS) Implementation Guide to reflect reauthorized trade programs.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 24 will enhance ACE to enable trade users to provide ATA Carnet information as part of an electronic truck manifest filing.

President Trump on March 13 signed an Executive Order which takes on fraudulent “Made in America” claims by foreign manufacturers and sellers, “ensuring Americans get clear, accurate information, and supporting businesses that truly manufacture in the United States.”

Although our industry-leading 2026 NCBFAA Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, on April 12-15, 2026, has sold out, we want to take this moment to thank our generous sponsors who help make this event a success.

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has updated its draft implementation guide. The changes in new version 2.7, dated Jan. 14, 2026, “reflect clarification language made based on feedback from the trade community,” agency said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on March 12 initiated investigations into 60 countries under Section 301(b) of the 1974 Trade Act. “The investigations will determine whether acts, policies, and practices of each of these economies related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce,” USTR said.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met with several states to discuss the Section 804 importation program (SIP) — the program which allows states and Indian tribes to import prescription drugs from Canada to significantly reduce the cost of these drugs to American consumers.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 12 provided an outline of its ACE IEEPA refund programming, so far, to Court of International Trade (CIT) Judge Robert Eaton. This new ACE functionality will be called the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), according to the filing submitted to CIT by Brandon Lord, Executive Director of Trade Programs for CBP’s Office of Trade.

A summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 9 updated the Appendix Partner Government Agency (PGA) document in the “PGA Message Set Documents” section in CBP’s CATAIR webpage.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 10 deployed to the production environment changes related to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ACE Supplemental Guide (SG) Version 2.6. Specifically, the SG 2.6 was moved from the DRAFT CHAPTERS: Future Capabilities section to the Implementation Guide Ready for Coding section in the PGA documents, the agency said.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said in a March 11 statement to the industry that it is “closely monitoring” the impact the military activities in the Middle East are having on ocean freight shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Under its statutory authority, the Commission said it “ensures that rates, charges, and rules that common carriers have implemented as a result of the threats to commercial shipping in the Strait and neighboring waters do not violate the Shipping Act.”

A summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome AlphaM Trading & Logistics, Cargomind, CB Customs Brokerage Services, Jin Jeong Kim dba JJK Customs Broker, and Prism Drawback Consulting Services, which have recently joined our association. We're so excited to have these firms join our organization and we are happy to assist in any way we can!

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on March 11 announced the initiation of investigations regarding the acts, policies, and practices of various economies under Section 301(b) of the 1974 Trade Act relating to “structural excess capacity and production” in manufacturing sectors. The investigations will determine whether those acts, policies, and practices are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce, according to USTR.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, (R-LA), on March 9 introduced the Securing Accountability in Foreign Entries (SAFE) Act, which would ensure the U.S. customs system provides fair and enforceable conditions for reliable trade partners to access the U.S. market. NCBFAA thanks Sen. Cassidy’s office for collaborating with the trade.