Monday Morning eBriefing

It is with utmost excitement that President Trump’s nominee for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner, Rodney Scott, will visit the NCBFAA 52nd Annual Conference at the Sheraton Grand at White Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona, during the keynote luncheon delivered by Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores on Wednesday, April 9.

The NCBFAA submitted formal comments on March 14 to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding the Electronic Export Manifest (EEM) for Rail Cargo Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). This proposed rule would mandate advance electronic manifest filings for U.S. exports via rail, a significant modernization effort aimed at improving export data accuracy and security

The Census Bureau and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made changes to the Automated Export System (AES) concerning the use of the Other Partnership Agency (OPA) license type. These changes impact how Electronic Export Information (EEI) is filed, particularly regarding the license number field and associated Partner Government Agency (PGA) data requirements.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has launched a formal Order of Investigation into the impact of transit constraints at major international maritime chokepoints. This move underscores growing concerns about delays, congestion, and potential unfair practices that could negatively affect U.S. foreign trade.

From the Port of Miami, customs brokers report that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is down eight inspectors due to the recent layoffs. The shortage of inspectors is causing delays as the remaining inspectors try to handle the volume of FDA-regulated trade.

At the USDA Animal and Plant health Inspection Service (APHIS), the agency is streamlining stakeholder communications by providing a weekly summary of routine updates to the Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements (ACIR) database and PPQ Manuals.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 12 deployed entry summary bond validation updates. Before the updates, entry summary bond validations used the effective date and termination date at the bond header level to find the valid continuous bond for the importer of record.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Bonnie Roberts, DocUnlock, EMD Customs Broker & Logistics Center, Kevin Han, Lizbeth G. Loredo-Moreno, Norvik Trade & Transport, and Trade-IQ, 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 customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

Since the March 6 update on the Mexico/Canada IEEPA tariffs, an advanced copy of the Federal Register notice and CBP CSMS instructions have been circulated to implement the Executive Order providing some relief to certain goods imported from Mexico and Canada. Goods that are the product of Canada or Mexico that do not qualify as originating under the USMCA continue to be subject to the full 25% tariff that started on March 4, except for energy products from Canada which are subject to a 10% duty rate.

Due to a massive influx of registrants during the past week, the NCBFAA 52nd Annual Conference is officially sold out, effective midnight on Friday, March 7. We regret that if you are unable to attend our industry-leading event this year, but we will look forward to seeing at next year's Annual Conference.

NCBFAA is proud to announce the recipients of its two $5,000 scholarships for 2025. These scholarships, which are generously sponsored by Roanoke Insurance Group and Alba Wheels Up, help offset the costs that our Regular Members and their children accrue while learning or further developing the skills they will need to succeed in a career in Customs Brokerage, Freight Forwarding, or related field in international trade.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced an updated version of the USDA AMS CATAIR which has been posted in the “PGA Message Set Documents” section of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) CATAIR webpage.

Have you used the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) Regulatory Robot? It is a great resource to determine what regulations and product safety standards apply to the consumer products you are importing.

NCBFAA congratulates those NCBFAA Regular and Affiliate Members who are among the 20 representatives that have been selected to represent our industry as part of the 17th COAC.

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

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome North Cape Logistics and SBIS Inc. dba Sun Bay International, 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 customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee Leadership, along with Customs Counsel from Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., met with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Leadership on Friday, Feb. 21, for an informal discussion regarding the recent imposition of the China IEEPA tariffs. Our questions for CBP to answer were based on customs broker member feedback. CBP provided the following advice, however we expect the agency to issue FAQs of a formal nature.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed imposing fees and service restrictions on cargo ships operated by or constructed in China. This proposal follows a Section 301 investigation that determined China's efforts to dominate the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors are unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce.