Reminder - Adding Contact Information to your ACE Portal Account - All ACE Secure Data Portal Account Owners are reminded to add contact information to all the sub-accounts in your ACE portal account. Failure to add contact information to your account may prevent additional sub-tabs and portlets from being displayed within the different levels of your ACE Portal account view. It is also important to keep contact information up-to-date to avoid delays in communication between CBP and users from your account. For assistance adding or updating contact information in your ACE Portal account, please contact the ACE Accounts Service Desk at 1-866-530-4172 or you may send an email to: ACE.Support@cbp.dhs.gov.

In last week's article entitled, "NCBFAA ALERT: Critical Information for Your Food Importing Clients!" we overstated what FSVP Importer information you have to submit to ACE at the time of entry. You DO NOT have to provide the FDA food facility registration number for the FSVP Importer - just the name, contact info, and DUNS number.

Starting May 27, 2017, the FDA will begin implementing the FDA's Food Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).

On Friday, March 3, NCBFAA leaders spent two hours discussing areas for improving regulations with Acting FMC Chairman Michael Khouri. Meeting with the Acting Chairman were NCBFAA President Geoffrey Powell, NCBFAA Transportation Counsel Edward Greenberg, NCBFAA Legislative Representative Jon Kent, and NCBFAA Transportation Committee Chair Jan Fields.

ACE Portal Reminder: Data Available in ACE Reports - The ACE Secure Data Portal provides users the ability to run reports to capture import and export transaction data. ACE Portal users have the option to run standard canned reports, modify existing predefined reports, or create customized reports using ad-hoc capabilities available in the ACE reporting tool. Users can also select reports that capture data originating from ACE or the legacy ACS. ACE Report data is refreshed nightly, and hourly for a select group of reports.

During a meeting of the NCBFAA Customs Committee with CBP management, we learned that our ongoing effort to modernize the regulations governing customs brokers has been put on hold indefinitely by CBP. Characterized as the Part 111 rewrite, the proposals have been under review by CBP's Office of Regulations and Review (ORR) and encompass several primary topics:

The decades-old US-EU beef dispute is again firing up, following a petition filed in December by the US beef industry asking the USTR to reinstate retaliatory tariffs against a range of EU products. The USTR held a public hearing on February 15 to gather views on whether to impose tariffs and, if so, what products should be placed on the list.

Ruling H276784 (here) addressed the issue of whether a broker could pay a referral fee to a non-licensed entity. CBP Headquarters interpreted 19 CFR 111.36 to preclude the payment of a commission to an unlicensed entity. CBP reasoned that because a commission is generally a percentage of the fee paid for services, section 111.36(a), would bar the payment of commissions to unlicensed persons, as it is derived from the fees paid by clients for Customs business. In contrast, CBP opined that a different payment method, such as a flat amount paid by the broker to its agents that is not tied to any particular transaction, would not trigger the regulation.

The NCBFAA Board of Directors would like to acknowledge the following 37 new members approved at the January 21 meeting in Charlotte, NC.

ACE Portal Reminders: Disabling your Internet Browser's Pop-Up Blocker and Creating Individual User Login IDs - U.S. Customs and Border Protection would like to remind all ACE Secure Data Portal users of the need to disable your Internet browser pop-up blocker when launching the following application modules in the ACE 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.