Monday Morning eBriefing

President Trump on Friday evening, Feb. 20, issued an Executive Order invoking his authority under Section 122 of the 1974. The order was in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier on Friday which struck down the Trump administration’s use of IEEPA tariffs.

Although our industry-leading 2026 NCBFAA Annual Conference at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, on April 12-15, 2026, has sold out, we want to take this moment to thank our generous sponsors who help make this event a success.

In a 6-3 decision on Friday, Feb. 20, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Because the majority of the Court affirmed the Court of Appeals Federal Circuit (CAFC), the case will now return to the CAFC and then to the Court of International Trade. Next, the Court of International Trade will have to decide the appropriate remedy for the now invalidated tariffs, including whether and how refunds should be processed. This insightful analysis is provided by NCBFAA Customs Counsel Lenny Feldman of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clarified that if the FDA Process Indicator Code = A, then the Government Processing Code must = CS4. This change is in addition to previously announced revisions to the FDA ACE Supplemental Guide v. 2.6 Business Rule Revisions.

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) on Feb. 19 announced that it updated the Electronic Export Manifest (EEM) ACE Exports Ocean X12- 350 Customs Status Information Implementation Guide. The primary change includes the requirement for M7A02 (Seal Number) in the M7 Segment – Seal Number Replacement has been changed from Mandatory to Optional.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Aldenbridge Customs Brokerage and CargoSprint 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!

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Feb. 19 posted the Truck Manifest implementation guides for the ACE Electronic Export Manifest (EEM) system. The agency said all X.12 and UNEDIFACT IGs are the first iterations of these documents and are not updates to prior IGs.

A summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Base Metals Center recently updated its guidance regarding “exclusively from steel/aluminum melted and poured or smelt and cast in the US” as a Section 232 exemption.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided the trade with this “high-level” factsheet of President Trump new tariffs on imported goods under IEEPA and Section 232. Exemptions and details of the tariffs, however, are not fully covered in the factsheet, the agency said.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., has provided our customs broker members with pertinent details regarding the implementation of recent U.S. reciprocal trade deals reached with Bangladesh and Taiwan as it pertains to tariff adjustments, as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance related the recently announced duty modifications for certain India products. The Committee will continue to send our members additional Trump Administration tariff updates and subsequent CBP guidance, as soon as received.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) Appendix O to include a new Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) license exemption.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided the trade with replacement refund instructions for returned checks and rejected ACH refunds. Starting Feb. 6, CBP began issuing all refunds electronically, except where law permits checks.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries reached out to customs brokers last week to discuss the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) requirements. Starting Jan. 1, the MMPA took effect, requiring a Certification of Admissibility (COA) for certain seafood products from specified countries found to have non-compliant fisheries.

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) on Feb. 17 will deploy the ACE Duty Calculation for up to 32 HTS Codes (CBP-127) enhancement to ACE in response to requests from the trade.

NCBFAA through its Transportation Committee and Counsel of Venable LLP on Feb. 11 submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in response to a Request for Information on its Transportation Research and Development (RD&T) Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2026–2030.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Feb. 10 published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend its regulations to require advance submission of Electronic Export Manifest (EEM) information for cargo exported via vessel from the U.S. The proposed rule would require the mandatory submission of the following eight data elements as early as practicable, but no later than 24 hours prior to the loading of cargo on the outbound conveyance.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a Feb. 13 Federal Register notice has proposed regulations to require that most bonds be transmitted to the agency electronically via a specialized system by the surety securing the bond, or by the principal on a bond secured by cash in lieu of surety. CBP said the proposed changes will “further centralize and streamline CBP’s bond program.”