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 has recently joined our association:

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) unveiled a new portal to simplify access to entry requirements for imported agricultural commodities.

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 has recently joined our association:

The White House on April 12 nominated Chris Magnus, currently police chief for the City of Tucson, Arizona, to serve as the country's next commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.

The USDA Specialty Crops Deputy Administrator has agreed to allow the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to align its notification requirements for truck and air imported shipments with the FDA notice requirements of two hours.

A member company seeks a wholesale agent for ocean freight contract service for imports from Asia to the U.S. If you can provide this service, please email Nancy Painter at npainter@ncbfaa.org.

NCBFAA's 21CCF Subcommittee has been making a lot of progress under Cindy Allen's leadership, along with vital support from Victoria Lane, to draft the association's 21st Century Customs & Trade Framework White Paper.

The Biden administration has signaled to the trade that human rights abuses facilitated through the supply chain will not be tolerated and that includes U.S. exports to despotic regimes.

In February, the Food and Drug Administration launched the second phase of its Artificial Intelligence Imported Seafood pilot, which is designed to enhance and improve the agency's ability to identify imported seafood products that may pose a threat to public health. In this phase, the FDA is applying the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning model algorithm in the field to help FDA staff decide which shipments to examine.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced several changes in personnel who are involved with the regulation of imports:

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on April 9 released President Biden's fiscal year 2022 discretionary funding request to Congress. The OMB is expected to release the president's budget later this spring.

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) has once again introduced the Imported Seafood Testing Act (H.R. 1236) in the 117th Congress, requiring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect at least 20% of all imported seafood each year, as well as the first 15 shipments imported into the U.S. by a new importer.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on April 8 issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments regarding carrier (1) pass-through charges, and (2) tariff access fees. The ANPRM is a part of the FMC's initiative to review existing regulations to determine whether they are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective. Specifically, the FMC is seeking comments on how non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) apply pass-through charges under their tariffs, and the reasonableness of certain tariff access fees. The FMC is seeking public input prior to determining whether to change its carrier tariff regulations.

NCBFAA congratulates Daniela Piperno as this year's annual scholarship recipient.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) implemented its One U.S. Government Messaging System at Import (1USG) to all the trade on March 22. The 1USG Messaging for the first time allows two-way messaging between CPSC, CBP and the trade. For the most part, the roll-out has been smooth. Yet, the process has caused some confusion in the trade. NCBFAA is working with CPSC and CBP to clarify any points of confusion. Please contact RAC@ncbfaa.org if you have questions or have experienced issues with CPSC's new process.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as expected, deployed the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMA) enhancements to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) on April 6.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has advised the air cargo industry that the Indirect Air Carrier Management System (IACMS) is incorporating new functionality for the upcoming Secure Packing Facility (SPF) addition.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is stepping up enforcement of its Food Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) for imported products, with an increasing number of inspections and warning letters to importers citing FSVP failures. The FDA is conducting both remote and on-site inspections. Many of the FSVP inspections involve remote inspection of electronic records. Typical violations found by FDA include:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 29 posted the final versions of the PGA Message Set and Appendix PGA under the "PGA Message Set Documents" section of its website.

During the 2020 Biennial Registration Renewal for Food Facilities, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required facilities to obtain a DUNS number as a part of the registration. As the Dec. 31 deadline for renewal approached, many facilities were experiencing difficulty obtaining a DUNS number for the facility location. In response to concerns from the trade, the FDA issued guidance on Dec. 1, 2020, allowing registrants to enter "PENDING" in the field where the Identifier is required, so long as the registration is updated with the DUNS number in 90 days. The Unique Identification Number (UFI) field has been added to Section 2 of Form 3537, Food Facility Registration.