Earlier this Fall, all those designated as the primary contact to represent their company for the NCBFAA received a notice requesting them to confirm the accuracy of their corporate information in the NCBFAA databases. For those who have already responded, thank you; all others are encouraged to please take a few minutes to use the access credentials included in that email communication to review, and if necessary to update, your company's information

CBP's recent East Coast Trade Symposium was a valuable opportunity for Customs and the trade to come together and share insights and ideas about the future of trade and trade regulation. NCBFAA President Geoff Powell was honored to be invited to participate in the first full session of the Symposium with a one-on-one interview with CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. Powell's questions included inquiries into the future direction of CBP's policy and focus, what keeps the Commissioner up at night, and the future of cargo and e-commerce management. The Commissioner's replies were insightful, in no way "needlessly verbose" and showed the attendees we are indeed lucky to have such an engaged and dynamic leader at CBP. The Commissioner let the audience know that CBP is focused on their 2020 strategy and looking beyond the next budget cycle to make a long-term plan for the agency that incorporates security, safety, compliance and the PGAs in a streamlined, meaningful and relevant way.

With year-end fast approaching and the holidays here, what better gift to share with someone (or yourself) than registering for the 2018 NCBFAA Annual Conference in beautiful Rancho Mirage, CA!

NCBFAA is encouraging our members to prepare for this transition in several ways. First, please consider working with your clients to move your entry filing dates up as much as possible to minimize the number of transactions CBP is processing in ACE over the deployment weekend. Please minimize the number entries, if possible, on the daily statements in order to control the environment as much as possible. We suggest you consider moving your statements that are due to be paid during the deployment week up early to avoid any miscues and non-payment. We also encourage you to reach out to your client rep to make sure they will be in the office during the deployment, and find out what your contingency plan should be if they will not be there. Find your best channel of communication with CBP ahead of the deployment so you will have the best chance of success in resolving an issue should one occur during the drop. We also recommend that you reach out to your software vendors to discuss their plans and how you can be the best partner possible for them during this deployment. Again, find a good communication channel with your vendor before the deployment so you won't have to spend precious time just trying to find the right person to speak with. Finally, you may consider sending a communication similar to the following to your clients:

On December 14, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY) introduced the Customs Business Fairness Act (HR 4657) to provide relief to customs brokers for duties paid on behalf of importers who declare bankruptcy. Congressman King described the bill as "an effort to eliminate an unfair financial burden borne by customs brokers."

With the tax bill occupying center stage next week, there is little chance that deadlines for spending and trade can be met by the end of the week, which also will be the end of the First Session of the 115th Congress.

Beginning January 1, under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), importers are required to electronically submit detailed data elements for 11 species of seafood and seafood-containing food products, including: where the fish was caught, the type of net used, the name of the vessel, where the fish was off-loaded, the weight of the fish when it was off-loaded, the name of the processor, among other details.

CBP has activated its site for licensed brokers to pay their 2018 Customs Broker Triennial fees online and to file their Status Report. This is the preferred method to pay these triennial fees, which are due by February 1, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. EST. At this time, only triennial fees can be paid using this method. Brokers with a National and/or Local permit will need to submit payments to the Ports where these permits were issued.

In a letter to the Bureau of the Census, the NCBFAA has submitted comments on Census' Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding standard and routed export transactions.

The American economy relies upon an international supply chain that can be made more efficient and resilient through private sector initiatives such as the creation of a National Seaport Information Portal.

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.