Monday Morning eBriefing

Demurrage and detention charges are designed as a tool by ocean carriers and marine terminal operators to encourage shippers and NVOCCs to utilize and return container equipment in a timely manner.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has advised the trade of the addition of three new Protest Issues in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Protest Module.

As a Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) Importer and FSVP Agent, United Safety Agents works closely with its customs brokerage and freight forwarding partners to ensure that their clients comply with FSVP, are represented by an experienced FSVP Agent, and successfully clear the FSVP-portion of U.S. Customs entry. The firm acts as the FSVP Agent for a large and diverse set of food, beverage, and dietary supplement manufacturers, exporters, and non-resident importers. United Safety Agents' FSVP services complement those typically offered by NCBFAA's member companies, without overlap. In most cases FSVP Agent representation can be established in as little as 24-hours. Visit United Safety Agents website to learn more about FSVP, its implications for your clients, and the ways in which FSVP Agency can complement and streamline your service offerings and operation.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed all alcohol-based hand sanitizers from Mexico on a countrywide import alert to help stop products that appear to be in violation from entering the U.S. until the agency is able to review the products' safety.

In response to the White House Chief of Staff's memorandum concerning "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review" issued on Jan. 20, the Commerce Department has delayed the effective date of the final rule, "Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis System," from Jan. 25 to March 29.

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:

Implementation of APHIS-Core ACE filing officially began Jan. 25. All customs brokers should now be filing, or at least attempting to file, the APHIS Message Set or a valid disclaim for products classified in a flagged HTS.

The NCBFAA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection hosted a webinar on Jan. 5 to instruct customs brokers on filing their triennial status reports and payments in the eCBP portal.

The Biden administration on Jan. 20 issued an order to withdraw any rules that were issued by federal agencies to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) prior to Jan. 20. It also revoked Executive Order 13771, Reducing Regulation and Controlling Costs and Executive Order 13777, Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.

The U.S. and UK governments concluded an arrangement to formally recognize each other's authorized economic operator (AEO) programs.

As previously reported, the U.S. government has taken formal steps to treat Hong Kong as part of China and no longer as a separate destination under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that implementation of ACE filing for APHIS-Core will begin Jan. 25, requiring filers to submit a message set for regulated products.

Staying compliant with Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) regulations in the current environment of ocean shipping can be quite challenging. Ocean carrier costs are subject to daily, if not hourly changes in Asia, as our agents or offices in this market fight to get bookings on available ships.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requests that customs broker notifications and requested documents previously mailed to CBP Headquarters be sent directly to the Broker Management Branch inbox, brokermanagement@cbp.dhs.gov, to ensure timely receipt and action.

On Jan. 15, 2020, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), Docket No. 20-22, Service Contracts, to modify the filing requirements for service contracts.

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:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated the PGA Flag Enforcement Table with a footnote added to remind filers that the only PGA that utilizes expedited release is NHTSA. Other than for NHTSA, these AE (not certified) entry summaries should not include PGA data. If cargo is regulated by other PGAs, trade must file an ACE Cargo Release (SE) or ACE Entry Summary Certified for ACE Cargo Release (AE Certified).

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Jan. 25 will expand its 1USG Notification Messaging for Imports by adding an additional seven filers.

A revised version of the External ACE Entry Summary Rules and Process Document Trade Version 10.25-Revised has been posted on CBP.gov and can be accessed here.

"Due to unforeseen programming difficulties and the need to perform a programming update, the ability to file a claim under 19 USC 1313(c)(1)(c)(ii) (ACE provision codes 56 and 70) that include exports to Canada (CA) or Mexico (MX) will be temporarily unavailable," Customs and Border Protection said in a message to the trade on Jan. 21.