Partnerships were the focus of the week for NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery. Last week, she spent time finalizing NCBFAA's Getting to Global partnership with the Department of Commerce and the Media Partnership with American Shipper. Both of these partnerships make the association more effective at advocating for our industry. Additionally, she spent much of her time supporting and preparing for the upcoming Government Affairs Conference.

CBP has posted an updated FWS Implementation Guide (IG) and a FWS PGA Message Set Samples document to CBP.gov. To download a copy of the updated PGA documents, please copy and paste the following URLs to your internet browser:

Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, USN, Ret., is the latest Administrator of the Maritime Administration. Prior to his appointment, Admiral Buzby served as president of the National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA), a global association of transportation and logistics professionals.

As of September 16, all electronic filings of FTZ admission applications must be made in ACE as ACS will be decommissioned for the electronic filing of these applications, according to a recent CBP notice. All other filers will continue to submit FTZ admission applications to CBP on paper.

The NCBFAA and American Shipper recently announced a partnership agreement designed to better serve the needs of their members and readers alike. The focus of this new partnership will be better member and reader service, including an NCBFAA sponsorship of American Shipper's 2018 Import-Export Compliance Benchmark Survey.

Updated ACE Information Posted on CBP.gov - CBP has updated a webpage and an ACE document on CBP.gov. The updated ACE information includes:

The Department of Commerce announced a preliminary decision to impose countervailing duties on aluminum shipments from China, ranging from 81 percent to 17 percent for four companies and 22 percent on other Chinese companies that are not specifically named. The preliminary decision is part of a routine CVD investigation and is separate from the Administration's broader inquiry into the impact of aluminum and steel imports on national security. Nevertheless, it takes on added importance in the midst of growing tensions over trade with China and prompted a warning from China to the U.S. to "act cautiously....to avoid any negative impact" on economic and trade ties between the two countries.

NCBFAA President Geoff Powell had a very busy week. Early last week, he attended the Global Trade Educational Conference (GTEC) in Long Beach, CA. While in California, he met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information, the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Administration, among others, at the Port of L.A. to discuss productivity and data visibility at the port.

On Wednesday and Friday of last week, ACE system outages left users scrambling to access the ACE portal, process incoming trade messages and generate responses. CBP recently shared their uniform national procedures for the processing and release of commercial cargo during periods of time when the ACE Cargo Release system is unavailable to process cargo. Though not all inclusive, these guidelines should be considered to efficiently facilitate the secure movement of legitimate trade during computer system downtimes.

NCBFAA, the Airforwarders Association's (AfA), and indirect air carriers (Admiral Air Express, Inc. d/b/a ALG Admiral, Inc., Commodity Forwarders, Inc., Hassett Express LLC) recently petitioned the TSA to reconsider changes made to certain provisions concerning training in proposed Change 6 to the Indirect Air Carrier Standard Security Program. TSA has listened to our concerns and has indicated today that it itends to shortly release updated training materials which IACs can use to be in compliance with their obligations under Change 6.

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.