Monday Morning eBriefing

Due to the NCBFAA Legislative Committee’s continued lobbying on Capitol Hill, the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) (H.R. 4186) has recently gained its 21st congressional co-sponsor.

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.

The O*NET Data Collection Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, is seeking the input of expert Customs Brokers. As the nation's most comprehensive source of occupational data, O*NET is a public resource for millions of job seekers, employers, veterans, educators, and students at www.onetonline.org.

Forwarders spend a good deal of energy explaining export compliance responsibilities to the less educated exporters, only to hear that “you are the only forwarder who is asking me for this information.” The association, in response, provides members an NCBFAA branded USPPI Responsibility Information Sheet as a tool that can be forwarded to or handed out to your export customers.

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 Jan. 28.

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:

Beginning Feb. 28, the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) will begin mandatory ACE filing of the AMS Marketing Order (MO) Message Set.

January’s trending topics on Guidance on HR, Business Management and Operational Risk brought to you by Paychex:

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:

Starting on Jan. 22 at 12:01 a.m. (local time), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) started requiring non-U.S. individuals seeking entry into the U.S. through land ports of entry and ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination.

Due to the NCBFAA Legislative Committee’s ongoing lobbying on Capitol Hill, the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) (H.R. 4186) has recently gained three new congressional co-sponsors for CBFA, giving us a total of 20.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), chairman of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, announced new legislation on Jan. 18 that he said would strengthen U.S. international trade import laws to stop non-market economies and goods from “exploiting” the de minimis threshold that allows imports valued under $800 to enter U.S. commerce without paying duties, taxes, or fees.

NCBFAA has invited Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to address its upcoming 49th Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona, on May 1-4.

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.

NCBFAA members have expressed interest in the NEI becoming an IATA-accredited “training school” that offers dangerous goods certification. There is a significant financial and structural investment involved in acquiring IATA accreditation.

The NCBFAA Export Compliance Sub-Committee has recently completed a thorough review of the SLI model and has updated it to reflect certain regulatory changes.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Jan. 29 will implement changes to the electronic process for reviewing entry summaries.

The O*NET Data Collection Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, is seeking the input of expert Customs Brokers. As the nation's most comprehensive source of occupational data, O*NET is a public resource for millions of job seekers, employers, veterans, educators, and students at www.onetonline.org.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided an updated document with instructions on communicating electronically with various areas of the agency’s operations during a recent meeting with the Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association. While parts of the document are specific to the West Coast, most of the contacts and instructions are useful to other parts of the country.

Some of you may occasionally receive questionable electronic communications which are believed to be part of phishing schemes. Always ignore and delete these communications!