Due to the efforts of the NCBFAA, a new rule that substantially deregulates NVOCC service arrangements ("NSAs") and NVOCC negotiated rate arrangements ("NRAs") went into effect Wednesday, August 22, 2018. The Association would like to express its appreciation to Acting Chairman Khouri and Commissioner Dye for their efforts in promulgating this new rule.

In the August 20 edition of the Federal Register, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a correction regarding Modernized Drawback. In the proposed rulemaking, CBP unintentional stated "an exemption for drawback claims for wine which included an imprecise reference to the entirety of paragraph (b)."

The NCBFAA and the AfA have commented on the Interim Final Rule (IFR) for the Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS) program. These comments are the culmination of NCBFAA and AfA's years spent in on-going discussions with the TSA, CBP and the air cargo transportation community, as well as with their members who participated in the ACAS program.

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has created a new product code for low risk devices promoted as general wellness products. Product code 80PWC is now available for import use only. This product code should not be used for FDA device registration purposes under any circumstances.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have announced that effective October 1st, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) will increase by 4.886 percent to adjust for inflation. Fees affected by this increase include:

On Thursday of last week, the Senate voted unanimously to pass the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill Act. This bill is an amended version of the document that passed in the House earlier this year. The items that were removed from the original bill are propargyl butylcarbamate, esfenvalerate, collapsible insulated food and beverage bags, rotary hand cutting tools, full tang knives, electric commercial vehicles, and cabs and bodies for electric vehicles. The original bill, with its over 1700 duty suspensions or reductions on imported products not produced in the U.S., can be found here.

Butch Connor of John S. Connor, Baltimore, spoke before the House Port Caucus on Wednesday, July 18th, representing NCBFAA in describing the value of the customs broker, freight forwarder and NVO to the U.S. economy.

The NCBFAA Board of Directors would like to acknowledge the following 18 new members approved at the June 23 meeting in Washington, D.C.

Last Monday, Mary Jo Muoio (Chair of NCBFAA's Customs Committee) and Jon Kent (Counsel) met with a group assembled by John Leonard from the Office of Trade and OFO to discuss the Association's punch list of functionalities missing from core ACE. For well over a year, NCBFAA has engaged in discussion about such issues as AII, the House Airway Bill, de minimis and approximately two dozen functions that our members felt essential to the needs of the industry.

On July 6th, after the additional 25% tariffs on over $34 billion of Chinese goods went into effect, China reacted by enacting additional tariffs of 25% on over 545 products originating from the United States, also valued at $34 billion. These tariffs cover commodities such as agricultural products such as beef and dairy, automobiles and aquatic goods. Additionally, China plans to enact additional tariffs on 114 products originating from the United States, valued at $16 billion should the U.S. enact additional tariffs. These commodities include chemical products, medical equipment and energy products.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. is tracking the outcome of U.S.-Vietnam trade deal, ongoing U.S.-Canadian trade discussions, and CBP tariff guidance updates for the association's customs broker members and their importer clients.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), effective July 1, revoked the Syria Sanctions as authorized in Executive Order (EO) 14312.

On July 16 at 2 p.m. ET, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will hold a special “virtual office hours” session to discuss challenges and experiences of customs brokers and industry members who have participated in the CPSC e-Filing pilot.

With so much focus on trade in Washington, D.C., these days, NCBFAA anticipates that the 2025 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7-9, will sell out of our room block at the Grand Hyatt Washington well before the room rate cut-off date of Aug. 7.

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 NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. is tracking the outcome of U.S.-Vietnam trade deal, ongoing U.S.-Canadian trade discussions, and CBP tariff guidance updates for the association's customs broker members and their importer clients.

On July 16 at 2 p.m. ET, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will hold a special “virtual office hours” session to discuss challenges and experiences of customs brokers and industry members who have participated in the CPSC e-Filing pilot.

With so much focus on trade in Washington, D.C., these days, NCBFAA anticipates that the 2025 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7-9, will sell out of our room block at the Grand Hyatt Washington well before the room rate cut-off date of Aug. 7.

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

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome 7 Star Logistics Solutions, Farris Customs Brokers, Infinito Global Trade Network, and Karl Gross Logistics (USA), 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!

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. is tracking the outcome of U.S.-Vietnam trade deal, ongoing U.S.-Canadian trade discussions, and CBP tariff guidance updates for the association's customs broker members and their importer clients.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), effective July 1, revoked the Syria Sanctions as authorized in Executive Order (EO) 14312.

FIATA’s new Best Practice Guide on Maritime Contracting helps freight forwarders navigate this landscape by clarifying the implications of acting under different capacities when engaging with ocean carriers.

On July 16 at 2 p.m. ET, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will hold a special “virtual office hours” session to discuss challenges and experiences of customs brokers and industry members who have participated in the CPSC e-Filing pilot.

With so much focus on trade in Washington, D.C., these days, NCBFAA anticipates that the 2025 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7-9, will sell out of our room block at the Grand Hyatt Washington well before the room rate cut-off date of Aug. 7.