Monday Morning eBriefing

This article is provided to NCBFAA by our Customs Counsel Lenny Feldman at Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the selection of 15 stakeholders to participate in its Reimbursable Services Program (RSP), as provided for under Section 481 of the 2002 Homeland Security Act.

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

The U.S., along G7 members from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. as well as the European Union, announced on March 11 it will take steps to revoke Russia’s Most-Favored-Nation status in solidarity against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Border Release Advanced Screening and Selectivity (BRASS) provided for the tracking and releasing of highly repetitive shipments at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) land border locations. CBP said the use of BRASS as an entry type will be discontinued when Truck Manifest Modernization (TMM) goes live for the ports listed below that are participating in the Truck phase deployment and ultimately will cease when deployment goes out to all remaining ports. The C4 code will not be supported going forward, and an alternative entry method must be utilized. This is effective for Truck only and will not affect the use of BRASS as a shipment type for Rail at this time. ACE Truck Manifest Modernization: Phase 2 and 3 Rollout Schedule: Brownsville – Deployment Jan. 31 Buffalo – Deployment March 13 Laredo – Deployment April 3 Blaine – Deployment April 24 Detroit – Deployment May 15 Remaining Ports – Deployment June 5 CBP said training will be available as rollout proceeds. On June 20, R4 will be retired. All related functionalities will be available for CBP users in the modernized application.

During this past week, the U.S. Government activated various enforcement agencies to do “boots on the ground” outreach to the trade, including freight forwarders. This has consisted of onsite visits, calls, and follow-up emails.

For imported merchandise where Internal Revenue Tax (IRT) was paid to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), any related IRT drawback claim calculations must reflect IRT refunds paid by the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), CBP said.

The NCBFAA Airfreight Subcommittee’s Internal Screening Advisory Council (iSAC) on March 9 identified and confirmed a new Security Threat Assessment (STA) from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to be used by the airfreight industry for all initial and renewing STA application submissions.

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 on March 10 responded to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notice requesting comments regarding methods to prevent imports into the U.S. of goods mined, produced, and manufactured in China using forced labor, especially from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The DHS request for comments was facilitated by the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and the U.S. government’s Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF).

While the White House Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force has taken steps to address the nation’s problem with seaport congestion, NCBFAA has asked the task force to not exclude air freight from that effort

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

In 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.

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:

While the White House Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force has taken steps to address the nation’s problem with seaport congestion, NCBFAA has asked the task force to not exclude air freight from that effort.

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.

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

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.

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 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.