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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On August 3, 2017, the Department of Commerce announced the initiation of antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of cast iron soil pipe fittings from China. The items covered by these investigations are cast iron soil pipe fittings, finished and unfinished, regardless of industry or proprietary specifications, and regardless of size. Cast iron soil pipe fittings are nonmalleable iron castings of various designs and sizes, including, but not limited to, bends, tees, wyes, traps, drains, and other common or special fittings, with or without side inlets.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC), in an August 3 release, has determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value.

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.