Monday Morning eBriefing

President Biden announced March 1, as well as highlighted during his State of the Union, that his administration will take a multiprong regulatory and legislative action aimed at lowering consumer prices and leveling the playing field in ocean container shipping.

It may still be cold outside, but let’s not put our momentum to make the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) (H.R. 4186) permanent on ice. We need each of our members to continue reaching out to their Congressional Members on Capitol Hill to let them know just how important this legislation is to our industry.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule to add new export license requirements and review policies for Belarus to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in response to that country’s enabling of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee’s Logistics Subcommittee is regularly collecting data on the nation’s rail delays and port congestion that are impacting the supply chain and your business operations.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 3 released three draft EDI implementation guide updates for ACE Import Ocean Manifest House Bill Release functionality.

NCBFAA, along with 45 other trade associations, sent a letter March 3 to Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Daniel Maffei requesting a 30-day extension to submit comments on the agency’s Feb. 15 advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding demurrage and detention billing practices.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in lockstep with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, and the National Security Agency (NSA), is urging U.S. infrastructure operators and air transport providers to protect themselves against the possible increase in cyberattacks. Russian state-sponsored actors have “demonstrated a capability to maintain persistent, long-term access in compromised enterprise and cloud environments,” CISA said. The U.S. government warns that these attacks may escalate in the weeks ahead as the U.S. and other western countries continue protesting the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing severe economic sanctions against Russia’s political and business leaders. Here is what CISA recommends: Be prepared. Confirm reporting processes and minimize personnel gaps in IT/OT security coverage. Create, maintain, and exercise a cyber incident response plan, resilience plan, and continuity of operations plan so that critical functions and operations can be kept running if technology systems are disrupted or need to be taken offline. Enhance your organization’s cyber posture. Follow best practices for identity and access management, protective controls and architecture, and vulnerability and configuration management. Increase organizational vigilance. Stay current on reporting on this threat. Subscribe to CISA’s mailing list and feeds to receive notifications when CISA releases information about a security topic or threat. CISA, the FBI, and NSA encourage critical infrastructure organization leaders to review CISA Insights: Preparing for and Mitigating Cyber Threats for information on reducing cyber threats to their organizations. DHS also urges Indirect Air Carriers (IACs) and Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSFs) to review this information circular.

n response to Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has expanded sanctions against Russia by adding a new prohibition under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that targets the country’s oil refinery industry.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has issued a final rule to add new export license requirements and review policies for Belarus to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) in response to that country’s enabling of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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

NCBFAA thanks all our members who continue reaching out to their representatives and senators on Capitol Hill regarding important legislative matters that impact our industry. For those who have not yet done so, PLEASE do and be sure to ask your colleagues to do the same.

NCBFAA, along with 45 other trade associations, sent a letter March 3 to Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Daniel Maffei requesting a 30-day extension to submit comments on the agency’s Feb. 15 advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) regarding demurrage and detention billing practices.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have continued to postpone their “Container Dwell Fee,” and said they will reconsider its possible imposition on March 11.

Here is 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 Brokers may be liable for charges under current practices by ocean carriers naming them as “merchant” as listed in terms and conditions of their master bills of lading. The carriers’ intention by use of a broad definition of merchant casts a wide net over multiple parties they can hold responsible for charges related to the bill of lading.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Feb. 28 issued an update to its Jan. 27 message to the trade providing guidance on new Section 301 modifications made to certain classifications within the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS).

NCBFAA’s agenda for its 49th Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona, on May 1-4, promises to enlighten and educate our members on the most important regulatory and legislative topics impacting their businesses today!

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee’s Logistics Subcommittee is regularly collecting data on the nation’s rail delays and port congestion that are impacting the supply chain and your business operations.

It may still be cold outside, but let’s not put our momentum to make the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) (H.R. 4186) permanent on ice. We need each of our members to continue reaching out to their Congressional Members on Capitol Hill to let them know just how important this legislation is to our industry.

NCBFAA thanks all our members who continue reaching out to their representatives and senators on Capitol Hill regarding important legislative matters that impact our industry. For those who have not yet done so, PLEASE do and be sure to ask your colleagues to do the same.