Monday Morning eBriefing

The White House Executive Order issued April 2 stated that all articles imported into the U.S. will be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent, effective 12:01 a.m. ET on April 5. President Trump on April 2 also signed an Executive Order to eliminate duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value imports from China, effective May 2 at 12:01 a.m. ET. In addition, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to provide guidance to trade with entry filing instructions pertinent to these tariffs. The NCBFAA Customs Committee and its Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., continue to monitor these tariffs and their impact on our customs broker members.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at all U.S. ports of entry have begun detentions of sea salt products produced by Taepyung Salt Farm, effective April 2. The agency said it issued the WRO against Taepyung Salt Farm based on information that “reasonably indicates the use of forced labor” in violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1307 in the production of that merchandise.

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) turned to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for guidance on how to file Lacey Act information for a Lacey-flagged tariff that also contains steel or aluminum.

The 52nd NCBFAA Annual Conference at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona, is being held April 6-9. For those members who are unable to attend this year’s event, we urge you to look forward to the 53rd NCBFAA Annual Conference to be held at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, on April 12-15, 2026. Keep in mind to register as soon as possible, since this industry-leading event will undoubtedly be another sold-out event!

The NCBFAA Customs Committee’s HTS Sequencing Working Group led by Myra Reynolds of John S. James Co. has developed the HTS Sequencing Toolkit which provides important information to NCBFAA Regular Members about the requirements for Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) sequencing.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is currently soliciting for a Centralized Examination Station (CES) in the Area Port of Houston/Galveston, Houston Seaport. Applications for the CES will be accepted for 60 days, from April 4 to June 3.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Atlas Freight Forwarding, Border Connect Logistics dba R&R Global, Precision Customs Brokers, Sabin International Logistics Corp., Schulz Trade Law, and The Global Zolutions, which have recently joined our association. We're so excited to have these firms join our organization and we are happy to assist in any way we can!

A summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable.

A summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee is monitoring the potential imposition of the reciprocal tariffs on countries which have disproportionately higher tariffs on U.S. goods as early as April 2 and what that will mean to customs brokers. In addition, the White House intends to impose 25% tariffs on imported cars and light trucks and certain vehicle parts as early as April 3, and some countries may be subject to additional tariffs of 25%, starting April 2, for importing oil from Venezuela. In addition, President Trump indicated that he will soon announce tariffs on lumber, pharmaceuticals, and possibly on computer chips, among other products.

The National Marine Fisheries (NMFS) reached a settlement with three wildlife advocacy groups in a Court of International Trade (CIT) case. In return for dismissal of the case, NMFS promised to adhere to a timeline for implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which requires the government to ban fish from fisheries that do not meet U.S. standards for protecting marine mammals.

The trade associations that comprise the North American Customs Brokers Alliance (NACBA) expressed their endorsement for the continuation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which entered into force on July 1, 2020, and is currently undergoing review by the three countries to extend the agreement for another 16 years.

The sold out 52nd NCBFAA Annual Conference at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona, to be held on April 6-9 is now just around the corner. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

The USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will expand the Risk-Based Sampling at Ports of Entry (RBS POE) program to include new varieties of lettuce arriving at select U.S. ports of entry starting the week of March 31.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee’s AD/CVD Working Group has developed the AD/CVD Certification Toolkit which provides important information to NCBFAA Regular Members about the requirements for AD/CVD certifications.

A March 25 Executive Order from the White House called for the Treasury Department to cease issuing paper checks for all federal disbursements, including tax refunds, effective Sept. 30, 2025.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. unveiled a major restructuring plan for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that calls for 10,000 additional personnel cuts, centralization of functions and a consolidation of 28 divisions into 15, resulting in budget savings of $1.8 billion annually for the sprawling agency.

NCBFAA mourns the passing of Lynn Carol Van Ek, wife of retired Regular Member Edwin Van EK of Comstock & Theakston. Lynn, who was an active participant at NCBFAA Annual Conferences, died on March 21 at her home in Pawley's Island, South Carolina. She was 77.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reminded the trade that the data available through ACE Reports will not be updated between the morning update on Friday, March 28, and the morning update on Wednesday, April 2.

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee and Counsel of Venable LLP in comments submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on March 24 expressed concern about the negative effects to both services and costs on NVOCCs, freight forwarders, and customs brokers if the proposed Section 301 port fees applied to Chinese-built containerships arriving at U.S. ports should be imposed.