Monday Morning eBriefing

The Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) seeks nominations for its Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness. The committee advises the Commerce secretary on the elements of a comprehensive policy approach to supply chain competitiveness. The department intends for the committee to play a key role in developing recommendations to address current global supply chain challenges, including identifying key bottlenecks in supply chains and actionable solutions to address them, advising on the latest advances in supply chain management technology and how to apply them to the current challenges in the economy, and developing long term recommendations to make supply chains more resilient.

The U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) recommends customs brokers and freight forwarders join the agency’s Business Service Provider (BSP) program.

2021 was undoubtedly another roller coaster year filled with challenges due to the ongoing global health crisis and supply chain upheaval. The end of the year, however, brings us hope for calm in both these areas.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) updated its guidance under the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act relating to:

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:

Be ready when the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) takes effect on Jan. 1, requiring importers of bulk HFCs to have a “consumption” allowance.

So, your ocean carrier representative will not bother with your service complaint. What can you do about it then?

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.

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

Sen. Bill Cassidy’s office during a Dec. 3 telephone conference with trade representatives expressed appreciation for the trade facilitation aspects for consideration in the proposed Customs Modernization Act of 2021 (ModAct-21).

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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: