Monday Morning eBriefing

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Aug. 20 released updated guidance regarding importer and customs broker responsibilities when filing duty free claims under U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Subheading 9801.00.10, and (b) documents that the agency may request to support claims under Subheading 9801.00.10.

As with many large trade associations, the NCBFAA maintains outside counsel positions for guidance and to provide the membership with the highest quality of service available. To that end, we currently contract with two legal counsels, covering general association operations and customs and transportation matters, as well as legislative representative.

A reminder that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expanded its “tip sheet” to assist importers and customs brokers meet their filing obligations relating to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA governs the production, distribution, and importation of pesticides. The “Tips and Guidelines for Filing EPA Notice of Arrival (NOA) for Pesticides and Devices” serves as a reference guide to refresh the knowledge of an experienced customs broker and educate a broker that is new to EPA filing.

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.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reminds the industry that a change to the Customs Broker Permit User Fee within the 1985 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) will take effect Oct. 1.

The Food and Drug Administration is again reminding the trade that starting Sept. 4 the agency will deploy three new validations. Failure to provide the correct information will result in a reject of the entry. The changes include:

As a reminder to our members, Peter Scarabelli of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has asked for the RAC to provide a reminder regarding potato imports used to manufacture potato salad.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome the following member who has recently joined our association:

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome the following member who has recently joined our association:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced it is now utilizing the following PGA status messages to support the Hold coordination at the port or at the importer's premises:

As with many large trade associations, the NCBFAA maintains outside counsel positions for guidance and to provide the membership with the highest quality of service available. To that end, we currently contract with two legal counsels, covering general association operations and customs and transportation matters, as well as legislative representative.

The Senate on Aug. 10 passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021 by a vote of 69-30. It is a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package with $550 billion in new spending over the next 5 years. The bill received support from 19 Senate Republicans. Here is what is included in the package:

As with many large trade associations, the NCBFAA maintains outside counsel positions for guidance and to provide the membership with the highest quality of service available. To that end, we currently contract with two legal counsels, covering general association operations and customs and transportation matters, as well as legislative representative.

Customs and Border Protection's Office of Trade Commercial Operations Revenue and Entry Division (CORE) will disable the 5106 mailbox, effective Sept. 4. All future Form 5106 requests must be sent to one of the noted locations. CBP asked the trade not to send requests to multiple locations since this will "cause duplication of work and delayed processing."

The U.S. government recently issued an advisory warning of compliance risks associated with doing business in Hong Kong and asked businesses to increase their due diligence.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome the following member who has recently joined our association:

We reported on this in the Aug. 2 Monday Morning eBriefing, but it bears repeating that on Sept. 4, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will implement a hard reject of food entries that have an invalid syntax for the FSV email transmitted in PG21. There will be no period of warnings.

Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced legislation to strengthen import requirements for the importation of live dogs. The Healthy Dog Importation Act addresses current gaps in oversight which have raised concerns among animal health groups, agricultural associations and public health organizations.

In Headquarters Ruling Letter H297978, issued July 16, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) responded to the NCBFAA's inquiry regarding the validity of an electronically signed customs brokers power of attorney (POA) for CBP purposes.

After approximately 20 years in the District of Columbia, NCBFAA has moved to a new headquarters office in close-by Silver Spring, Maryland.