Monday Morning eBriefing

The Commerce Department’s Bureau Industry and Security (BIS) Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security on June 29 started an investigation under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Act to determine the effects on the national security of imports of anthracite coal. For the purposes of this investigation, anthracite coal encompasses products classified under HTSUS code 2701.11.0000 (Anthracite Coal) and 2701.12.0010 (Metallurgical Bituminous Coal).

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a Federal Register notice announcing certain modifications and a clarification to the National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test pertaining to the processing of post-summary corrections (PSCs) and the payment of increases in estimated duties, taxes, and fees resulting from a PSC.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Bridgeway International Services, Cotransa, Kronos Logistics India Pvt Ltd., Larry Germi, Inc. dba LG Cargo Clearances, SMN Global Logistics 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!

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a July 1 update to the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) reported that $104.29 billion in both potential and certified IEEPA tariff refunds have been accepted for processing in the agency’s Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) Phase 1 in ACE since April 20.

U.S. trade negotiators from the White House on July 1 told their USMCA counterparts – Canada and Mexico – that the trilateral trade agreement will not be renewed in its current form. As previously announced, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) officials will meet with Mexico the week of July 20 for a third round of bilateral negotiations related to the USMCA joint review.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced a final rule to change the definition of shellfish to include squid, cuttlefish, octopus, and other cephalopods. Since shellfish are exempt from FWS regulation, this change will reduce regulatory requirements and costs for importers and exporters of squid and other cephalopods.

It is with profound sadness that NCBFAA notifies our membership of the passing of XTheta Founder, Derek John Stevens, on June 25. He was 79. Derek built a decades-long career supplying many U.S. customs brokerages with ABI software.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on July 1 made available to the trade its updated Cargo Release Condition Codes document. Specifically, the update pertains to the deployment of the Inactive for Entry Purposes Status for Importer Records Following Entry Filing Activity. This update was deployed to the ACE Certification environment on June 30 and will be deployed to the Production environment on July 14.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2614 was created on June 30, 2026, and contains 310 harmonized tariff records and 1287 Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records. HSU 2614 contains the Spring 2026 484(f) HTS Updates.

The Committee for the Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules, better known as the 484(f) Committee, has finalized the list of changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), effective July 1, 2026. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), meanwhile, is implementing the 484(f) updates in ABI.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a Federal Register notice on July 1 detailing the increase in the quarterly Internal Revenue Service (IRS) interest rates from the previous quarter which are used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 30 announced that it has updated the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) – Appendix U – HTS/Schedule B Classifications Requiring Used Vehicle Reporting. Documentation is available under the ACE AESTIR Appendix on the AES webpage.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 30 notified the trade that an updated version of the ACE CATAIR Error Dictionary V49 has been posted under the Supporting Documents: Documentation for Entry Summary Chapters section. This update creates a new Fatal validation to prevent a dutiable Auto Part HTS and a dutiable Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (MHDV) HTS number from being on the same Entry Summary line, CBP said.

The Trump Administration on June 29 authorized an immediate suspension of duties on U.S. imports of phosphate-based fertilizer from Morocco for the next eight months. “Global supply chains for phosphate fertilizer and fertilizer inputs, including imports of such products into the United States, have been disrupted in recent months by, among other things, conflicts in fertilizer-producing regions as well as trade actions taken by major fertilizer-producing countries,” the White House said in its proclamation.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 29 provided updated guidance on the import adjustment offset applicable to Section 232 duties on automobile and medium and heavy-duty vehicle parts. Specifically, the agency said this guidance updates CSMS #6684128 relating to the import adjustment offset for Section 232 duties on automobile parts and provides new guidance on the offset for Section 232 duties on medium and heavy-duty vehicle parts.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on June 29 that it has completed the successful deployment for enhancements to the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) application in the ACE Secure Data Portal. “Importers and authorized customs brokers can now include in their CAPE declarations, submitted in the ACE Portal, entries flagged for reconciliation (entry types 01, 02, 06) for which the reconciliation entry (entry type 09) has not been filed. Consistent with CAPE Phase 1, the entries flagged for reconciliation will be limited to unliquidated entries and entries that have been liquidated within 80 days of the CAPE declaration filing date,” CBP said in a message to the trade.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) on June 26 sent a reminder to the trade about import filing requirements in ACE for organic entries and new organic HTS codes. On July 1, the AMS tariff flag code for the following HTS codes will change from AM7 (may File) to AM8 (must file) – with reject severity, the agency said.

President Trump in a June 26 Truth Social post warned that any northern European countries that impose a digital service tax on U.S. companies will “immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America.”

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a proposed rule that would require foreign establishments that manufacture, prepare, compound, or process tobacco products for import into the U.S. to register their establishments and list their products with the agency. Customs brokers handling tobacco product entries may want to monitor the rulemaking and discuss with affected importer clients how the proposed requirements could affect supplier documentation, product identification, and FDA compliance expectations.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a June 25 message to the trade said it has updated certain validations performed on entries included on Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) declarations filed in ACE. Specifically, CBP said entries that previously resulted in error messages should be resubmitted on a new CAPE Declaration.