Monday Morning eBriefing

An NVOCC was recently cleared by a New York District Court opinion involving liability in its role transporting counterfeit Nike sneakers to the U.S., but the case should serve as a warning to all forwarders and NVOCCs that they must still be careful not to transport counterfeit goods unwittingly or willingly.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Oct. 4 outlined the Biden Administration’s upcoming approach to improving U.S. trade with China.

NCBFAA members are aware of the chaos encountered every day in America’s supply chain. Container ports remain congested at levels never experienced. Truck drivers and equipment are in short supply, and railroad networks are tied in knots.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome the following member who has recently joined our association:

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 24 issued a message to provide the trade community with information regarding additional data that may be provided with protest submissions. While this recommended approach may provide some benefits, NCBFAA continues to advocate for the ability to file protests directly into the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) where the customs broker can provide a revised entry summary that would streamline processing for both CBP and the broker.

Jayme White was sworn in as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative on Sept. 27, overseeing matters involving the Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, Labor, and Environment. He was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 22.

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.

Due to Department Homeland Security (DHS)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Security Policy changes, effective Oct. 3, all Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal account passwords will require a minimum of 15-characters.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a final rule establishing a quota system for the production or importation of bulk hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), effective Jan. 1, 2022. The rule implements the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, passed last December, which mandates the phasedown of HFCs by 85 percent by 2036. HFCs are greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosols, and other products.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 28 released its latest Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Development and Deployment Schedule.

During the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference (GAC) on Sept. 19-21, a giant push was made by members—both in-person and virtual—on Capitol Hill to make the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) of 2021 (H.R. 4816) permanent law.

The certification requirement for certain imports of textile and apparel goods from Mexico are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under a tariff preference level (TPL) through the Electronic Certification System (eCERT), effective Oct. 5.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made available on its website here a list of partner government agencies (PGAs) involved in imports and exports as part of the Border Interagency Executive Council (BIEC).

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Lacey Act Phase VI implementation took effect Oct. 1. At this time, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has not loaded PGA flags into ACE. Customs brokers are still under the obligation to transmit the Lacey Act data set for goods subject to the new requirements.

NCBFAA has joined other industry associations and companies in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that supports the Commerce Department’s preliminary decision regarding the interpretation of the reference price for fresh tomatoes from Mexico.

NCBFAA mourns the recent passing of Albert Saphir, a longtime consultant and friend to many practitioners in the customs broker, freight forwarder, and NVOCC industry. He died on Sept. 20 at the age of 63 following a courageous, three-year battle with cancer.

NCBFAA has retained Lenny Feldman as General Counsel and Ashley Craig as Transportation and Logistics Counsel, effective Oct. 1.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a message to the industry on Sept. 21 that Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2108 was created on Aug. 31 and contains 28,924 ABI records and 4,989 harmonized tariff records.

With the threat of a partial federal government shutdown due to the budget process, both chambers on Capitol Hill agreed to a Dec 3 date for funding provisions, but with some differences, while the Senate is currently considering its version.

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei addressed the NCBFAA annual Government Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 20, discussing conditions in the trade, Commission actions and initiatives in response to events of the past year, and possible priorities for the agency moving forward.