Monday Morning eBriefing

The House passed S. 283, the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act, on Sept. 14 in a voice vote. The bill directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to work together on a field test kit that can identify seafood's country of origin. The agencies are also told to work with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Coast Guard.

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

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome George H Matthes dba GHMatthes CHB, Hermes International Movers Corp., NDA Logistics Corp., Sou-Tier Inc., dba Robert F Barnes CHB, Unity Customs Brokers, and Valls International (Houston), 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 2026 NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 27-29, is almost here. Each year, NCBFAA members from across the country gather in the nation’s capital at the GAC to learn about timely and critical industry changes influenced by Capitol Hill lawmakers, the White House, and federal regulators. Now more than ever, it is important for our Congressional Members to understand how our industry is being impacted by the current trade policy and agenda. Specifically, meeting with elected officials helps ensure they understand the implications of any trade-related legislation placed before them. By participating in the GAC, NCBFAA members can effectively shape and grow our industry.

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) will deploy Phase 3 of the Consolidated Administration and Process of Entries (CAPE) in ACE on Oct. 6, which covers finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs for which the Court of International Trade (CIT) has ordered reliquidation, according to a declaration filed by CBP’s Executive Director of Trade Programs Brandon Lord on Sept. 15 to CIT Judge Richard Eaton.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a wealth of resources for customs brokers, importers, and other stakeholders. Yet sometimes it is hard to locate what you need on their sprawling website. If this is your experience, you'll want to bookmark this excellent collection of FDA Import Resources gathered in one place on the FDA website. It features videos, quick-reference guides, and a grouped index of FDA Import Program resources to assist importers, brokers and stakeholders.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced to the trade on Sept. 15 that an updated version of the ACE CATAIR Entry Summary Create/Update V110 was posted to the Chapters: Current Capabilities section on CBP.gov. This update includes the new FY27 Customs COBRA User Fees. The agency also advised that updated versions of the ACE CATAIR Error Dictionary V53 and V54 were made.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 17 implemented a new error code for e214 Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) admissions in the ACE Production environment. Specifically, the ACE Appendix P – e214 FTZ Admission Error Codes document was updated to add the error code: 238 - FIRMS CODE NOT APPROVED FOR DIRECT DELIVERY.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 12 enhanced the ACE Portal account login security by adding Short Message Service (SMS) as a multifactor login authentication option. Use of the SMS authentication feature is optional, the agency said.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee provides helpful information for allowing payment of Single Pay and Post Summary Correction (PSC) entry summaries via ACH Debit Authorization.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 11 provided the trade with guidance on the modifications to the Section 338 Canada duties pursuant to the Presidential Proclamations on Modifying the Scope of Products of Canada Subject to the Additional Duties Imposed to Offset Canadian Discrimination Against the Commerce of the United States with Respect to Alcoholic Beverages and Motor Vehicles issued on Sept. 8. These changes shall be effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. ET on Sept. 15.

Customs brokers and importers are gatekeepers to our country’s security and safety. Since 9/11 CBP’s partnership programs have recognized, and especially now must increasingly value, the critical role these good actors play. By Lenny Feldman, Managing Partner at Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., and NCBFAA General and Customs Counsel

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) informed cosmetic product facilities, retailers, and industry stakeholders that the agency does not provide certificates or other documents to verify that a company is compliant with FDA's cosmetic product facility registration. Under the 2022 Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), facilities that manufacture or process cosmetic products are required to register their facility with FDA and renew the registration every two years.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reminds stakeholders that the annual increase in Agricultural Quarantine Inspection (AQI) user fees will be implemented on Oct. 1, as set forth in the May 7, 2024, Federal Register.

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

Following the CBP 2026 Trade and Cargo Security Summit in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 8-10, NCBFAA advises customs broker members, if they haven’t done so already, to acquaint themselves with the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Forced Labor Enforcement Operational Guidance for Importers. CBP said this guidance provides a consolidated overview of the three authorities (19 U.S.C. 1307, UFLPA, CAATSA) which the agency uses to prevent the import of goods produced with forced labor into the U.S.

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) on Sept. 10 announced it has deployed the Document Imaging System (DIS) Validation of Internal Transition Number (ITN) for Electronic Export Information (EEI) Submissions (CBP-255) to the ACE Certification environment. The enhancement will be deployed in the ACE Production environment on Oct. 8, the agency said.

With the help from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Pork Board, the NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) was able to resolve a troublesome check-off assessment issue with the "pork fee." The fee is assessed at the time of entry on imported pork products and varies by HTS number. It is established by the Pork Board with the fees used for pork research, promotion, and consumer outreach.