Monday Morning eBriefing

Last week, NCBFAA President Geoff Powell lead a call focused on the overlapping needs of the software vendors and brokerage community in conjunction with the upcoming 12/9 ACE release. The NCBFAA is assisting in coordinated communication with CBP to ensure that the trade's development and deployment timeline is agreed to and adhered to. He continued to follow-up on this issue while at WESSCON.

The U.S. unveiled highly controversial proposals at the 4th round of NAFTA negotiations, including a proposal to up the North American content on automobiles to 85 percent from the current 62.5 percent and with an added requirement for 50 percent U.S. content. This, along with another proposal to sunset NAFTA after five years unless the three countries agree to renew it, met with strong resistance from Mexico and Canada. The extreme U.S. proposals have many wondering about the fate of NAFTA. With this in mind, we have looked at some of the key issues surrounding a potential U.S. withdrawal from NAFTA. Can the President invoke the withdrawal provision without Congressional approval? If the U.S. withdraws from NAFTA, does the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement take effect again? For a discussion of these issues, see the paper here.

Effective October 12, 2017, the U.S. will formally revoke the country-based sanctions on Sudan, including all of the prohibitions set forth in the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations ("SSR"), 31 CFR Part 538, and all of the Specially Designated National ("SDN") designations. Accordingly, an OFAC general or specific license will no longer be required for U.S. persons to engage in transactions related to Sudan, unless the transaction is prohibited by a separate sanctions program. Persons and property blocked pursuant to the Sudan sanctions program, including the Government of Sudan, will be unblocked.

Importers are increasingly concerned over the potential impact of N. Korean sanctions on imported products from China or elsewhere. A broad sanctions bill (HR 3364) was signed into U.S. law in early August. It includes criminal penalties against any person importing products made in whole or in part by N. Korean labor! It also includes potential sanctions for any individual who purchases such products made from North Korean labor -- even if the workers are in another country legally.

The FDA's Division of West Coast Imports (DWCI) has supplied the trade with detailed guidance when communicating through electronic programs. The document addresses entry reviews, compliance reviews, and message formatting, among other things.

The U.S. Census Bureau has released its long awaited Advanced Notice or Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) soliciting public comments on Routed Export Transactions. Specifically, Census is seeking comments on the clarity, usability, and any other matters related to the regulatory requirements for routed transactions, including the definition of routed export transaction as well as the general responsibilities of the parties involved.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have announced, in the September 28, 2017 edition of the Federal Register, their final ruling adopting, with several changes, proposed amendments to CBP, regulations regarding changes to the in-bond process published in the Federal Register on February 22, 2012. After receiving comments and concerns related to the original proposed rulemaking, CBP has made the following changes:

On September 25, CBP announced a new proposal by the city of Douglas, Arizona had been selected as part of the Donations Acceptance Program. The city proposed a donation of a parking lot and adjacent parcel of undeveloped land directly north of the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry to better enable CBP to implement parking lot security measures, reduce port congestion and provide added commercial vehicle staging in support of Unified Cargo Processing efforts. The Donations Acceptance Program enables CBP and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to explore, foster and facilitate partnerships for port of entry infrastructure and technology improvements.

NCBFAA urged the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Mike Crapo, to hold confirmation hearings on the nominations to the Ex Im Bank board. Four nominations for the Board and one for the Ex Im President and Chairman of the Board are pending.

The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the NCBFAA are with the citizens of Puerto Rico and all those affected by Hurricane Maria. As certain regions of the U.S. have experienced the devastation from other hurricanes, NCBFAA members have opened their doors to offer any assistance to those impacted. If there is anything we can do to assist you, whether it be back-office support, finding temporary office space or acting as a communication conduit, please do not hesitate to contact NCBFAA Executive Vice President, Megan Montgomery.

Pursuant to U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 7 CFR § 319.40-3 (effective since September 16, 2005), non-exempt wood packaging material (WPM) imported into the United States must have been treated at approved facilities at places of origin and must display an approved mark certifying the treatment of such wood products.

Responding to comments received in response to the Coalition for Fair Port Practices' Rulemaking Petition Number P4-16, the FMC will schedule a public hearing to discuss the multiple causes of port congestion, the divergent array of demurrage, detention and per diem assessment practices by different marine terminal operators (MTO) and vessel ocean common carriers (VOCCs).

New FRN Concerning ACE - CBP issued CSMS # 17-000577 announcing the publication of a Federal Register Notice (FRN) communicating the delay of the transition of the e214 (electronic Foreign Trade Zone admission) test program that was originally scheduled to be deployed in the ACE) with Deployment G2 on September 16, 2017.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has reminded everyone that Supplemental Filings are required at the House Bill of Lading level for Freight Remaining on Board cargo (passing through Canada to U.S. destinations). Noting low compliance by U.S. NVOCCs with this requirement, CBSA reiterated that the U.S. Forwarder or NVOCC is responsible for this filing. Details regarding this issue can be found here.

In a letter to the Ports of LA and Long Beach, 70 national, regional and local trade associations took aim at a draft Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), which would form the basis for numerous California rules to be imposed by its Air Resources Board. The group recognized that the cost of the plan -- estimated at between $8.5B - $14B would be borne significantly by port tenants and customers on a national basis.

CBP will administer the first electronic Customs Broker License Examination on October 25. Interested applicants have until September 22 to register for the upcoming exam. The transition from a written to electronic exam is part of CBP's efforts to modernize trade operations.

As a response to the solicitation emails sent to members of NCBFAA by online marketers, we have decided to make changes to our website to deter future incidents from occurring.

The NCBFAA Board of Directors would like to acknowledge the following 18 new members approved at the September 10 meeting in Washington, DC.

Due to the aggressive 2017 hurricane season and concerns expressed by the trade community for businesses managing a transition of the electronic Foreign Trade Zone (e214) through these events, CBP has decided to reschedule the deployment of e214 and Manufacturer ID (MID) creation capabilities. Deployment of these capabilities will move from September 16, 2017 to our next scheduled deployment on December 9, 2017.

After months of hard work and preparation, another successful Government Affairs Conference is in the books. NCBFAA members from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C. to engage in political action with their Representatives, learn tips of the trade through a wide range of session topics, and forge relationships with their peers. If you were following along using the Twitter/Facebook hashtag (#NCBFAAGAC17), you saw some of the many highlights our members experienced throughout the conference. If you didn't get a chance to join us, here are a few of the highlights: