Monday Morning eBriefing

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., is monitoring on behalf of our customs broker members the recent letters sent to more than 20 countries by the Trump administration calling for the implementation of varying amounts of tariffs to be imposed by 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 1, as well as the imposition of 50% tariffs on copper imports. This memo also provides key tariff-related guidance provided to the trade by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

With so much focus on trade in Washington, D.C., these days, it is no surprise that NCBFAA’s special room block at the Grand Hyatt Washington for the 2025 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7-9, has sold out. However, there are plenty of hotels in the immediate vicinity of the Grand Hyatt Washington and we encourage you to use online hotel search platforms, such as Expedia, Travelocity, and Priceline, to find and book your stay.

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!

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced the USDA is set to begin a phased reopening of the southern border ports for live cattle, bison and equines from Mexico, starting with Douglas, Arizona, on July 7.

Due to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) update to accommodate up to 32 HTS codes per entry line, the line format sent to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been modified. Customs brokers should be aware that this has resulted in a display change in FDA’s Import Trade Auxiliary System (ITACS) and on the Notice of FDA Action.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the trade will now have access to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)-issued documents in the ACE Portal. Customs brokers will now see a “PGA Documents” button in the upper right portion of the account header, giving those users access to any available CPSC-sent forms.

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.

The additional data elements to enforce the Russian Seafood and Russian Sanctions are available in the cert environment. The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) customs brokers have now been able to test the submission of the new data elements and have identified areas which are either unclear or confusing.

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.

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 Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), effective July 1, revoked the Syria Sanctions as authorized in Executive Order (EO) 14312.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated the severity of Response Message 15A FTZ MUST BE 9 CHARACTERS ALPHANUMERIC from a compliance alert to a fatal error in the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) Appendix A.

The Census Bureau has updated the 2025 Schedule B and Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) tables, as well as the current list of HTS codes that are not valid for AES.

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) in a July 1 Federal Register notice advised the quarterly Internal Revenue Service (IRS) interest rates used to calculate interest on overdue accounts (underpayments) and refunds (overpayments) of customs duties will remain the same from the previous quarter.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated the ACE Reconciliation Create/Update (v12) and Reconciliation Error Dictionary (v11) CATAIRs to support the increase in HTS code limit per entry summary Line.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Aug. 12 will deploy the third and final release of the Section 321 – Does Not Exceed $800 in Aggregated Shipments enhancement in the ACE Production environment. This release was successfully deployed to ACE Certification environment on June 26, the agency said.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., is tracking the outcome of the 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.

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.

As Customs and Border Protection continues to update its Section 232 Tariffs on steel and aluminum frequently asked questions (FAQs), the NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., continue to follow these FAQs for updates which are important to our customs broker members, as well CBP guidance for the US-UK and Northern Ireland Economic Prosperity Deal.