Monday Morning eBriefing

The NCBFAA is pleased to announce that the program for our 47th Annual Conference is now available! The NCBFAA Conference Committee has once again done an amazing job assembling the topics and issues most likely to affect the way you and your business operates in the coming year. You'll hear industry leaders and subject matter experts discuss:

On February 5, nearly 1,000 viewers tuned in to an NEI-sponsored webinar featuring the APHIS ACE team and NCBFAA RAC Committee member Stuart Schmidt to learn more about the new APHIS-Core electronic filing requirements, which will be mandatory August 3, 2020. The APHIS team provided an overview of the new process and encouraged brokers to explore the resources APHIS has made available, such as the APHIS Core Trade Guide, which has detailed and useful information for the trade. Right now, electronic filing for APHIS-Core is voluntary, but brokers are urged to begin using ACE for APHIS-Core filings so that you will be ready when the August 3 date arrives. If you missed the webinar, you can access it here.

NCBFAA joined more than 80 other trade organizations to urge House leaders to approve HR 4482, Protecting America's Food and Agriculture Act. The legislation, which NCBFAA members lobbied members of Congress to support during the recent Government Affairs Conference, would authorize funding for additional agriculture inspectors at the ports. In the letter to House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson and Ranking Member Mike Rogers, the trade associations explained the "vital role" that CBP Agricultural Specialists play in "both trade and travel safety....prevent[ing] the introduction of harmful foreign animal diseases and exotic plant pests into the U.S."

On January 15, 2020, the Federal Maritime Commission ("Commission") held its first meeting of the year. At that time, the Commission voted to issue and publish two final rules: (1) one rule implementing the Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2018, and (2) one modifying the hearing procedures governing the denial, revocation, or suspension of an ocean transportation intermediary ("OTI") license.

Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that they had selected nine participants to take part in their Section 321 Data pilot. The pilot participants are: Amazon, eBay, Zulily, FedEx, DHL, UPS, PreClear, XB Fulfillment and BoxC Logistics.

n a tweet published on December 31, President Trump announced that he would "be signing our very large and comprehensive Phase One Trade Deal with China on January 15." This signing is scheduled to take place at the White House and will include high level Chinese representatives. In the tweet, the President also announced that he would be going to Beijing at a later date to begin Phase Two of the negotiations.

On December 13, the United States and China came to terms on a Phase One trade agreement that will require China to make structural reforms and other changes to their economic and trade philosophies in the areas of "intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services, and currency and foreign exchange." This agreement also requires China to make "substantial additional purchases of U.S. goods and services in the coming years" as well as establishing a strong dispute resolution system. In return, the U.S. is required to modify its Section 301 tariff actions.

In a December 6 CSMS message, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance to the Trade on the fifth round of product exclusions for Tranche 3 of the Section 301 investigation.

On November 26, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced a list of new Section 301 product exclusions from the third list of products from China. These exclusions are retroactive from September 24, 2018 and will continue to August 7, 2020. U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP) will issue instructions on entry guidance and implementation. The product list has "32 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 39 separate exclusion requests."

On November 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance on submitting entries containing products granted exclusions from the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs.

On December 17, 2018, the Federal Maritime Commission ("Commission") issued a notice of proposed rulemaking ("NPRM") in its Docket No. 18-11 to somewhat amend the OTI regulations. Although the NPRM was primarily administrative in nature, the NCBFAA filed comments opposing any reduction in the term of OTI licenses.

In the November 13 edition of the Federal Register, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced a new set of Section 301 product exclusions on the third set of tariffs on Chinese goods. According to the notice, the "product exclusions announced in this notice will apply as of the September 24, 2018, effective date of the $200 billion action, to August 7, 2020."

On October 31, the NCBFAA submitted comments to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for an Interpretive Ruling on Assessing Demurrage and Detention. As a member of the coalition that originally filed a petition with the FMC almost two years ago, the NCBFAA has been outspoken in its desire to seek change to the current practices that do not encourage the efficient movement of containers. The Association appreciates the FMC's willingness to improve the current industry detention and demurrage practices and supports the proposed rule with a few modifications.

Last week, the NCBFAA was advised that the testing proctor had erroneously posted a "failed" message for applicants logging onto their post-examination system. This message does not reflect the official test result; the message has now been changed to reflect that the test was "taken" and the "fail" message has been removed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the only source from which to receive official test results and notification of your pass/fail results. A CSMS message addressing this issue will be issued shortly.

As part of our on-going discussions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to improve the Customs Broker License Examination, the NCBFAA is soliciting feedback from our members regarding the October 17 exam and their overall exam experience. If you or someone you know participated in the most recent exam, please share any positive stories or problems you encountered with NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery.

On October 10, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA) submitted comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled "Customs Broker Verification of Importer's Identity." The comments were prepared after months of discussion regarding the impact this proposed measure would have on the industry. The NCBFAA supports the proposed rulemaking, as the verification of an importer's identity will benefit the customs brokerage community and enhance U.S. Customs and Border Protection 's (CBP) efforts to protect our borders while facilitating legitimate trade, however we are providing these comments to assist the agency in developing a reasonable process to achieve these goals without creating an undue burden on the industry.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on October 2 that certain products from the E.U. would be subject to additional duty rates of either 10% or 25% effective on October 18. The tentative list of products may be found here. The definitive product coverage "will be determined by amendments to the HTSUS that USTR will publish in an upcoming Federal Register notice."

We want to thank everyone for their attendance and participation in this year's Government Affairs Conference! With 27 First Timers and approximately 172 attendees, we had a wonderful turnout. We understand that your attendance at this conference takes away from your time in the office and from home; that effort and sacrifice does not go unnoticed!

At a recent Board of Directors meeting, NCBFAA leadership discussed the need to have an accurate member count for our advocacy efforts, which amplifies our reach within the industry and on Capitol Hill. We are asking members to help support this effort by logging into your account and updating both your employee roster and reviewing your total employee count. We very much want to be able to tell Capitol Hill and the Government Agencies with which we engage the full story of our membership depth and breadth.

On September 13, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced that the Commission is seeking public comments on "its interpretation of the Shipping Act prohibition against failing to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable regulations and practices relating to or connected with receiving, handling, storing, or delivering property with respect to demurrage and detention. Specifically, the Commission is providing guidance as to what it will consider in assessing whether a demurrage or detention practice is unjust or unreasonable."