The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) continues to work with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to gain a better understanding of the agencies regulatory and procedural data requirements under ACE. Since the implementation of FDA processing in ACE, several questions have arisen regarding data filing for items that may not have been required under ACS. Questions have arisen for illuminating articles such as items containing LED'sand fluorescent bulbs along with food contact materials. Following is the limited response we have received for guidance to the trade.

As we have previously reported, the NCBFAA was part of a coalition of parties that filed a petition with the FMC requesting that the agency issue an interpretive rule on the issue of demurrage and detention charges (in Docket No. P4-16). That petition was filed as a reaction to the excessive demurrage and detention charges assessed by the lines during periods when NVOs and BCOs have been unable to pick up from or deliver containers to the piers for reasons beyond their control. For example, the service meltdown a couple of years in LA/Long Beach and the severe weather that has struck various ports has contributed to significant congestion in the ports, often making it impossible for these containers to move during the existing free time period.

On March 12, U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced legislation to nullify the tariffs on steel and aluminum announced by the White House that are scheduled to go into effect on March 24. Flake's bill would prohibit "the implementation of any changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule included by the presidential proclamations [1] [2] dated March 8.

In a letter to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune and Ranking Member Bill Nelson, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) President Geoffrey Powell offered full support for the re-nomination of Commissioner Daniel B. Maffei to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).

Last week, CBP released their "Standard Guidelines for CBP/Trade Outages," a comprehensive guide to the downtime policies and procedures CBP and the trade will follow during ACE system interruptions. According to CBP, this is a "living document" and will be continuously reviewed and updated to adapt to changing circumstances.

CBP has announced that Wednesday, April 25, 2018, will be the date of the next Customs Brokers License Examination. This will be the first of two exams scheduled for this year. The examination application deadline for the exam is Friday, March 16, 2018. All applications must be submitted online here. The cost of the exams is $390 and must be paid at the time of the application. The Pay.gov accepts credit card, debit card, and digital wallet (i.e. PayPal and Amazon Pay) payments. No additional fees are charged for any payments, and receipts are provided electronically.

Late last week, NCBFAA wrote to CBP with questions and comments regarding the upcoming February 24 ACE deployment. The communication included feedback received during its software coalition calls. NCBFAA's calls over these past few weeks have focused increasingly on the ACE deployment that includes drawback and reconciliation. NCBFAA raised several concerns in the letter, including the communication with the trade leading up to the release, the frequency of the technical calls and CATAIR updates, the lack of clarity and transparency surrounding updates of technical documents including the CATAIR and guidance documents, ongoing concerns with testing, the long term issues with lengthy drawback claims that may not be identified for years after this deployment, the system's stability and ability to handle the increased amount of data that will be coming through and the ongoing trade desire to have access to a war room and expanded hours access to the ABI reps. NCBFAA will continue to host software coalition and drawback committee calls in preparation for the February 24 deployment and will be constantly monitoring any issues that arise from the drop over the coming weeks.

Beginning April 7, all filings covered by the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) must comply with the electronic filing requirements in order for the entry to receive a "may proceed." The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) had originally adopted an "informed compliance" approach as to not impede the release and clearance of shipments where a filer had incomplete information or was unable to submit data into ACE.

The NCBFAA Board of Directors would like to acknowledge the following 22 new members approved at the January 20 meeting in Baltimore, MD.

The NCBFAA worked with CBP on Thursday and Friday of last week regarding statement issues. We asked CBP for regular CSMS updates to keep the trade informed of the ongoing issues. It is our understanding that there have been other issues aside from what was outlined in CSMS 18-000095. In addition to statements not being received, we received reports of Line Item totals not totaling to the Statement Total, statements that were too large to be transmitted and then forced to split up, potential late PMS payments and other associated warning letters. We ask our members to provide any other problems experienced to Austin Miller or Tom Mathers so we may compile a log of the issues and then discuss with CBP to ensure all issues were properly captured and addressed. We recommend keeping copious logs and notes of any issues you may experience to provide mitigating evidence in case any penalties arise in the future.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided guidance for the additional duties on U.S. imports of Brazilian products that are subject to the July 30 Executive Order (EO), “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” and will become effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 6.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are reviewing the details of the numerous reciprocal tariffs that took effect Aug. 1, the new 35% Canadian product tariff, the Section 232 import duties on copper and copper derivative products, and the end to de minimis for commercial shipments effective on Aug. 29. The Committee will report any ongoing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance related to these White House actions to our customs broker members as soon as it’s released by the agency.

Recognizing the rapid and unexpected increase in duties, customs brokers and warehouse proprietors increasingly are encountering situations of unclaimed, rejected, and abandoned cargo. In response, the NCBFAA Customs Committee, Transportation Committee, Committee Counsel, and Leadership have collaboratively developed a guidance document to assist NCBFAA Regular Members to address the recurring questions regarding this cargo and to clarify the rights of the transacting parties, as well as service providers.

The Vanguard Pest Control treatment provider informed the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that it will discontinue phytosanitary fumigations and close its treatment facility at the Newark, New Jersey, location at the end of July. APHIS provided guidance to the trade.

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

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided guidance for the additional duties on U.S. imports of Brazilian products that are subject to the July 30 Executive Order (EO), “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” and will become effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 6.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are reviewing the details of the numerous reciprocal tariffs that took effect Aug. 1, the new 35% Canadian product tariff, the Section 232 import duties on copper and copper derivative products, and the end to de minimis for commercial shipments effective on Aug. 29. The Committee will report any ongoing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance related to these White House actions to our customs broker members as soon as it’s released by the agency.

Recognizing the rapid and unexpected increase in duties, customs brokers and warehouse proprietors increasingly are encountering situations of unclaimed, rejected, and abandoned cargo. In response, the NCBFAA Customs Committee, Transportation Committee, Committee Counsel, and Leadership have collaboratively developed a guidance document to assist NCBFAA Regular Members to address the recurring questions regarding this cargo and to clarify the rights of the transacting parties, as well as service providers.

The Vanguard Pest Control treatment provider informed the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that it will discontinue phytosanitary fumigations and close its treatment facility at the Newark, New Jersey, location at the end of July. APHIS provided guidance to the trade.

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) has provided guidance for the additional duties on U.S. imports of Brazilian products that are subject to the July 30 Executive Order (EO), “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” and will become effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 6.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are reviewing the details of the numerous reciprocal tariffs that took effect Aug. 1, the new 35% Canadian product tariff, the Section 232 import duties on copper and copper derivative products, and the end to de minimis for commercial shipments effective on Aug. 29. The Committee will report any ongoing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance related to these White House actions to our customs broker members as soon as it’s released by the agency.

Recognizing the rapid and unexpected increase in duties, customs brokers and warehouse proprietors increasingly are encountering situations of unclaimed, rejected, and abandoned cargo. In response, the NCBFAA Customs Committee, Transportation Committee, Committee Counsel, and Leadership have collaboratively developed a guidance document to assist NCBFAA Regular Members to address the recurring questions regarding this cargo and to clarify the rights of the transacting parties, as well as service providers.

The Vanguard Pest Control treatment provider informed the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that it will discontinue phytosanitary fumigations and close its treatment facility at the Newark, New Jersey, location at the end of July. APHIS provided guidance to the trade.

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