Monday Morning eBriefing

We are a month away from this industry’s most informative event—the 49th NCBFAA Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona! You still have time to register and participate with hundreds of your customs broker and freight forwarder colleagues, but don’t delay. Hotel rooms booked at the special NCBFAA Annual Conference rate for May 1-4 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa are filling up fast. Once our room allotment is filled, late registrants will pay the regular hotel room rate. We urge you to register today! Once you register for the Annual Conference, NCBFAA will send you a link to make your hotel reservation. If for some reason you know will be attending this event but can’t register yet, please contact Kim O’Beirne at kobeirne@ncbfaa.org for further information. **** Important Registration Information: We would like to remind you that registration is not completed until NCBFAA staff processes your registration which may not be done immediately. Once registration is processed your credit card will be charged and you will receive the hotel reservation link. Please give a couple of days before contacting NCBFAA regarding this. **** When you register, let us know if your company turns 100 years old in 2022 and we will recognize that accomplishment during the Annual Conference. NCBFAA is celebrating its 125th Anniversary this year! NCBFAA has a comprehensive and energized conference program that is guaranteed to greatly inform and expand the knowledge of all attendees! NCBFAA is delighted and honored to announce that Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus will deliver the May 4 luncheon keynote in-person during the Annual Conference. Other top-notch government and industry speakers at this year’s conference will address hot topics such as airport and seaport congestion, latest Customs and Border Protection regulatory and IT activities impacting customs brokers, Federal Maritime Commission actions to try to bring fairness back to ocean container-shipping, and Partner Government Agencies’ involvement in cross-border trade. You can check out our exceptional Annual Conference program here. [Please Note: The NCBFAA is closely monitoring COVID-19 updates and requires all registrants to sign a COVID waiver during the conference registration process. At this time, masks are not required by the hotel or local government, but we will monitor the situation and advise attendees accordingly. Here's the Marriott's COVID Commitment to Clean and the state of Arizona and Pima County COVID requirements.] NCBFAA wishes to especially thank these companies that have already so generously provided the 2022 Annual Conference with sponsorship funding: DIAMOND Avalon Risk Management PLATINUM Roanoke Insurance Group Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. GOLD Affiliated Presidents Network (APN) ProSight WCA SILVER E2open, LLC EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants International Bond & Marine Brokerage, Ltd. Louisiana Maritime Chamber of Commerce BRONZE Crowley Logistics Descartes Systems (USA) LLC NCBFAA Shippers Association Registrar Corp Venable LLP If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by phone at (202) 466-0222 or emailing kobeirne@ncbfaa.org. We can't wait to see you at this year's conference!

NCBAA is both excited and honored to award this year’s $5,000 Annual Scholarship to Alexander Jansen for his insightful essay on the topic: “The Section 301 Tariffs on Products from China: Have They Had a Positive or Negative Effect on the U.S. Economy?”

The Statement Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) on March 23 published an interim final rule amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) to “better organize” and consolidate the purposes and definitions of the regulation.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), as directed by Chairman Daniel Maffei, announced on March 21 that it has added exports to the scope of its Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (VOCC) Audit Program

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: 

NCBFAA knows that you as our members are doing their best to keep up with their day-to-day businesses under dire supply chain circumstances, and now add on top of all that the recent flurry of U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. What do these sanctions mean to your business (our industry)? Well, it can be an awful lot, depending on whether you work with customers that had export or import business with Russia prior to invasion.

To provide the latest information to the trade community, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched a new Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) webpage and inbox (UFLPAInquiry@cbp.dhs.gov) to help disseminate UFLPA implementation updates and manage inquiries ahead of implementation on June 21.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on March 24 released additional General Licenses with regard to the Russian Sanctions. The most important one for our members was the publication of General License 17A which extended the authorization for transactions relating to the importation of fish, seafood, and preparations thereof of Russian origin through 12:01 a.m. ET on June 23, 2022, if there is a contract/agreement dated prior to March 11, 2022. Effective today, GL 17A replaces GL 17. Note that the deadline for importing non-commercial diamonds and alcoholic beverages was midnight March 24. Two new FAQs related to importation of Russian items can be found here.

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 USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reports that Canada will soon resume exporting Prince Edward Island (PEI) table stock potatoes into the U.S. Canada voluntarily suspended exports of this commodity in November due to US concerns about the risk of potato wart disease.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 23 announced an update for Appendix D - Disposition codes in the Ocean House Bill Release - Draft Chapters tab here.

The message from NCBFAA’s Fish & Wildlife webinar last week could not have been clearer: Start filing the FWS Message Set now. More than 900 attendees at the webinar learned crucial details about filing the FWS Message Set. Led by the NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies FWS Chair Richard Koteras of Livingston and Vice Chair Sandy Coty of A.N. Deringer, along with FWS ACE Coordinator Rhyan Tompkins, the panel walked attendees through specific filing scenarios, mapping the data elements on the Form 3-177 to the PGA Message Set and explaining the nuances of the process.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s SelectUSA will hold its annual Investment Summit in person at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, on June 26-29.

The NCBFAA Educational Institute (NEI) is proud to announce that it has selected the CCS Winners for 2021, and for the first time two students will receive this award.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on March 23 announced it will reinstate certain previously granted and extended product exclusions in the China Section 301 Investigation.

Our Congressional Members may be overwhelmed by the demands of the day, but that doesn’t mean NCBFAA members should delay personally contacting these lawmakers to let them know just how important the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) (H.R. 4186) is to our industry and the urgency to make this legislation permanent in the U.S. Bankruptcy Law.

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:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is continuing to roll out of its ACE Truck Manifest Modernization. On Jan. 30, the agency began the multi-release deployment of Enhancements to ACE Truck Manifest – Phase 2, also known as ACE Truck Manifest Modernization (TMM). The first deployment took place at the port of Brownsville, TX, and the second deployment occurred on March 13 at the port of Buffalo, NY.

Meet Gabriel Rodriguez, President of A Customs Brokers in Doral, FL. He has been a member of the NCBFAA for the last few years. Find out more on www.ncbfaa.org. #Customs #Forwarders #Brokers #Trade #US #Florida

NCBFAA is delighted and honored to announce that Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus will deliver the May 4 luncheon keynote in-person during the 49th NCBFAA Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona.