Monday Morning eBriefing

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Casmar Forwarding and Vantage Point Services 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.

President Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Nov. 13 affirmed the tariff changes and updates under the U.S.-South Korea Strategic Trade and Investment deal, following their in-person meeting on Oct. 29.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Nov. 14 provided the trade with updated import entry guidance regarding certain exemptions from tariffs for imported agricultural products as part of the Executive Order, “Modifying the Scope of the Reciprocal Tariff with Respect to Certain Agricultural Products."

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., provide our customs broker members with initial details from the White House regarding the reciprocal trade frameworks recently reached by the Trump Administration with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Switzerland.

President Trump on Nov. 14 released an Executive Order which effectively ends reciprocal tariffs for certain agricultural product imports. The order took effect for these now exempted goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 13.

The Committee for the Statistical Annotation of Tariff Schedules, more commonly known as the “484(f) committee” and consisting of representatives from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Census Bureau, is currently considering the Jan. 1, 2026 484(f) Statistical Reporting Numbers.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Dec. 1 will discontinue the use of the Document Image System (DIS) for submitting outbound cargo declarations. This includes the CBP Form 1302A: Cargo Declaration, supplemental form CBP 168, and any associated documents that comprise the outbound cargo manifest.

In April 2024, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued proposed program changes to the Indirect Air Carrier Standard Security Program (IACSSP) and the Certified Cargo Screening Standard Security Program (CCSSSP) under the procedures outlined in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §§1548.7(d) and 1549.7(d), respectively. TSA continues to review and adjudicate the large volume of comments received. However, due to significant industry concern regarding the April 2024 proposals, TSA reissued updated proposed changes to both security programs on Sept. 30, 2025, opening a second round of public comments. While the revised proposals reflect certain adjustments, the changes would still have major operational impacts on freight forwarders that are IACs and IAC-CCSFs.

The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) in a final rule on Nov. 7 removed Cambodia from 22 CFR 126.1 as a country subject to certain prohibitions for defense articles and defense services.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Nov. 13 issued a proposed rule to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7) regulation for reporting and recordkeeping requirements for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs). Most importantly, the proposed rule includes an exemption for reportable PFAS included in imported articles.

Customs brokers report increased scrutiny of certain fresh squid imports by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) which is causing holds and delays. The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) reached out to FWS for further guidance.

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

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has suspended its Interim Final Rule (IFR), “Expansion of End-User Controls for Affiliates of Certain Listed Entities,” for one year, effective Nov. 10. Unless there is a future extension, the suspension will end Nov. 9, 2026.

Registrations for the 53rd NCBFAA Annual Conference are on the rise and our hotel room block is starting to fill up fast. We strongly encourage you to register as soon as possible to guarantee your place at this year’s event!

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sent a reminder to the trade it will begin enforcement actions related to the FIRMS Code, Zone ID, and Port of Entry data which is submitted to ACE Foreign Trade Zone Admission transactions in the Production (PROD) environment.

Customs and Brokers Protection (CBP) is automating the submission method for individual customs broker license applications. As of Nov. 14, individual license applicants will complete and submit all applications and associated fees through the eCBP portal. Individual license applications hand delivered, mailed, or emailed on or after Nov. 14 will be returned to the applicant for submission through the eCBP portal.

The Treasury, State, and Commerce departments on Nov. 10 issued a tri-seal advisory detailing the sanctions and export controls relief the U.S. Government has implemented for exports to Syria since the removal of comprehensive Syrian sanctions in June. On the same day, the Secretary of State signed a determination suspending for 180 days the imposition of some sanctions on Syria pursuant to the Caesar Act.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a message to the trade to improve filing accuracy of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. The agency has noticed misclassifications of the GLP-1 drug products as cosmetics, peptides or inaccurate drug products, as well as inappropriate disclaims as "for research purposes" or "not for human consumption."