Monday Morning eBriefing

NCBFAA leadership who were gathered in Washington, D.C., for the Board of Director and Committee Meetings on June 22-24 met with lawmakers and their staff on Capitol Hill June 22.

NCBFAA President Jose D. (JD) Gonzalez participated on the 21st Century Customs Update panel at the Association of American Exporters and Importers Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., on June 21.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) notified the trade on June 20 that the ACE CATAIR ABI Batch & Block Control (V23) has been updated.

If you are active in your local customs broker and forwarder association but never attended an NCBFAA annual conference such as the upcoming Government Affairs Conference (GAC) on Sept. 10-12 before, you may be eligible for a discounted registration through the Emerging Leaders Mentor Program (ELMP).

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is seeking comments from the trade on proposed amendments to the valuation for duty regulations. The agency has extended the comment period regarding the proposed amendments through July 26.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it recently began sending notices to customs brokers who are submitting incomplete or incorrect data for licenses, permits, certificates and other documents (LPCOs) in PG 13 and PG 14 record lines of the APHIS Core Message Set.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 25 migrated Facility account functionality to the modernized ACE Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal) under Phase 4 of the ACE Portal Modernization. For the Facility account type, trade users will be able to edit account data, as well as create and edit account supporting data in the modernized ACE Portal.

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) Subcommittee on the Environmental Subcommittee held a virtual meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS)/Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC). The meeting marked the second in a series of ongoing meetings to discuss current topics of interest.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 22 published its final rule requiring continuing education for individual customs broker license holders and the framework for administering this requirement. The rule becomes effective July 24.

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) is pleased that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has succeeded in obtaining new tariff breakouts in the Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) for a long list of organic products. The tariff changes take effect July 1.

NCBFAA President Jose D. “JD” Gonzalez and Regulatory Agency Committee (RAC) leaders met with Animal Plant and Health Inspection Services (APHIS) officials to discuss the requirements for Mexican shipments of pork products transiting the U.S. to Canada.

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

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reminded filers to ensure that proper steps are followed when changing a Port of Entry after ACE data is transmitted.

Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) on June 14 introduced the De Minimis Reciprocity Act of 2023 to stop China and other countries from “abusing U.S. trade laws that allow small dollar imports into the U.S. duty free.”

As of Friday, June 16, the Senate has reportedly put the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2023 process on hold, and for now the amendment process has not been reopened.

While NCBFAA member outreach to Members of Congress in recent months has netted significant support for the Customs Business Fairness Act (H.R. 1453), the summer is no time for the association to rest if we are going to achieve our long-sought goal to make this important legislation to our industry permanent in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in 2023.

The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) on June 14 reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract covering workers at all 29 West Coast ports. The deal was reached with assistance from Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su.

CBP will reduce the number of continuing education credits required for the first triennial reporting period beginning in February 2024 under its upcoming final rule on continuing education requirements for customs brokers, CBP acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in opening remarks at the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting on June 14.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on June 13 published an updated fact sheet for how customs broker permit reporting should occur in the Modernized ACE.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on June 14 issued Fact Sheet: Provision of Humanitarian Assistance and Trade to Combat COVID-19 to provide guidance on OFAC’s exemptions, exceptions, and authorizations for humanitarian assistance for and trade with Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Russia.