In a December 6 CSMS message, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance to the Trade on the fifth round of product exclusions for Tranche 3 of the Section 301 investigation.

On November 26, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced a list of new Section 301 product exclusions from the third list of products from China. These exclusions are retroactive from September 24, 2018 and will continue to August 7, 2020. U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP) will issue instructions on entry guidance and implementation. The product list has "32 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 39 separate exclusion requests."

On November 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance on submitting entries containing products granted exclusions from the third tranche of Section 301 tariffs.

On December 17, 2018, the Federal Maritime Commission ("Commission") issued a notice of proposed rulemaking ("NPRM") in its Docket No. 18-11 to somewhat amend the OTI regulations. Although the NPRM was primarily administrative in nature, the NCBFAA filed comments opposing any reduction in the term of OTI licenses.

In the November 13 edition of the Federal Register, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced a new set of Section 301 product exclusions on the third set of tariffs on Chinese goods. According to the notice, the "product exclusions announced in this notice will apply as of the September 24, 2018, effective date of the $200 billion action, to August 7, 2020."

On October 31, the NCBFAA submitted comments to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for an Interpretive Ruling on Assessing Demurrage and Detention. As a member of the coalition that originally filed a petition with the FMC almost two years ago, the NCBFAA has been outspoken in its desire to seek change to the current practices that do not encourage the efficient movement of containers. The Association appreciates the FMC's willingness to improve the current industry detention and demurrage practices and supports the proposed rule with a few modifications.

Last week, the NCBFAA was advised that the testing proctor had erroneously posted a "failed" message for applicants logging onto their post-examination system. This message does not reflect the official test result; the message has now been changed to reflect that the test was "taken" and the "fail" message has been removed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the only source from which to receive official test results and notification of your pass/fail results. A CSMS message addressing this issue will be issued shortly.

As part of our on-going discussions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to improve the Customs Broker License Examination, the NCBFAA is soliciting feedback from our members regarding the October 17 exam and their overall exam experience. If you or someone you know participated in the most recent exam, please share any positive stories or problems you encountered with NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery.

On October 10, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA) submitted comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled "Customs Broker Verification of Importer's Identity." The comments were prepared after months of discussion regarding the impact this proposed measure would have on the industry. The NCBFAA supports the proposed rulemaking, as the verification of an importer's identity will benefit the customs brokerage community and enhance U.S. Customs and Border Protection 's (CBP) efforts to protect our borders while facilitating legitimate trade, however we are providing these comments to assist the agency in developing a reasonable process to achieve these goals without creating an undue burden on the industry.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on October 2 that certain products from the E.U. would be subject to additional duty rates of either 10% or 25% effective on October 18. The tentative list of products may be found here. The definitive product coverage "will be determined by amendments to the HTSUS that USTR will publish in an upcoming Federal Register notice."

President Trump announced on Friday, Aug. 22, that his administration has initiated an investigation into furniture imports, with the possibility of imposing tariffs on these products later this year.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will hold its next Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C., from 1-5 p.m. ET on Sept. 17. The meeting will be open to the public via webinar only, the agency said.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Aug. 21 updated its IEEPA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to clarify the unstacking provisions. Specifically, under “IEEPA Overarching,” see the question, “What are the current unstacking provisions?”

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., will continue to track the imposition of additional Section 232 tariffs on U.S. imports aluminum and steel derivatives, watch progress of the U.S. and European Union trade framework agreement announced on Aug. 21, and monitor the Canadian government’s commitment to end certain retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods by Sept. 1.

Customs and Border Protection said recent unannounced visits at Customs Bonded Facilities (CBF) have yielded numerous cases of violations. The agency reminds CBF operators of authorities that CBP Port Directors may exercise in cases of violations.

President Trump announced on Friday, Aug. 22, that his administration has initiated an investigation into furniture imports, with the possibility of imposing tariffs on these products later this year.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will hold its next Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C., from 1-5 p.m. ET on Sept. 17. The meeting will be open to the public via webinar only, the agency said.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Aug. 21 updated its IEEPA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to clarify the unstacking provisions. Specifically, under “IEEPA Overarching,” see the question, “What are the current unstacking provisions?”

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., will continue to track the imposition of additional Section 232 tariffs on U.S. imports aluminum and steel derivatives, watch progress of the U.S. and European Union trade framework agreement announced on Aug. 21, and monitor the Canadian government’s commitment to end certain retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods by Sept. 1.

Customs and Border Protection said recent unannounced visits at Customs Bonded Facilities (CBF) have yielded numerous cases of violations. The agency reminds CBF operators of authorities that CBP Port Directors may exercise in cases of violations.

President Trump announced on Friday, Aug. 22, that his administration has initiated an investigation into furniture imports, with the possibility of imposing tariffs on these products later this year.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will hold its next Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C., from 1-5 p.m. ET on Sept. 17. The meeting will be open to the public via webinar only, the agency said.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Aug. 21 updated its IEEPA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to clarify the unstacking provisions. Specifically, under “IEEPA Overarching,” see the question, “What are the current unstacking provisions?”

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., will continue to track the imposition of additional Section 232 tariffs on U.S. imports aluminum and steel derivatives, watch progress of the U.S. and European Union trade framework agreement announced on Aug. 21, and monitor the Canadian government’s commitment to end certain retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods by Sept. 1.

Customs and Border Protection said recent unannounced visits at Customs Bonded Facilities (CBF) have yielded numerous cases of violations. The agency reminds CBF operators of authorities that CBP Port Directors may exercise in cases of violations.