Monday Morning eBriefing

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 Nov. 22 hosted a change of command ceremony to formally instate Cheryl Davies, formerly Assistant Port Director of Passenger Operations, as Port Director for the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) overseeing Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS), and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Ontario, Palm Springs, San Bernardino, Victorville and Van Nuys user fee and international air cargo operations.

The USDA’s Agricultural Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Nov. 22 announced that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has stopped certification of all potatoes from Prince Edward Island due to recent detections of potato wart in two separate potato fields.

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) reached out to the administrators of the UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Products and Services Code) to express its support for the USDA Agriculture Marketing Service’s request for a new code for sliced/diced tomatoes.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released an updated Draft Cargo Release CATAIR chapter for future capabilities. The update includes updated SE30, SE31, SE50 and SE51 records along with updated output and input record usage maps. View the document here.

NCBFAA submitted a comprehensive response on Nov. 19 to Sen. Bill Cassidy’s request for feedback regarding the recently released Discussion Draft of the proposed Customs Modernization Act 2021 (ModAct-21).

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:

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:

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.

Congestion Excess Dwell Fee assessments at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which were scheduled to begin Nov. 15 for all containers that have been on dock at least nine days, will now take effect Nov. 22.

The USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) has noticed an increase in misclassification of Christmas trees. To clear up any misunderstanding on the HTS codes for Christmas trees, the Christmas Tree Promotion Board provides the following information to improve accuracy and knowledge of the importation of Christmas trees:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began a series of webinars for stakeholders to explain the requirements under the new Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) rule, which takes effect on Jan. 1 with new requirements for the production and import of bulk HFCs. At this time, imports of products containing HFCs (aerosols, air conditioners, refrigeration equipment) are not covered by the rule.

Prospects for the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) duty suspensions and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewal improved last week when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer agreed to go to conference on the larger U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) — a bipartisan Senate-passed bill that aims to boost U.S. competition with China. The USICA package includes both GSP renewal and MTB duty suspensions.

The recent sentencing of a CEO of children's apparel company by a New York district court for engaging in a years-long scheme to defraud Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of import duties should also serve as reminder to the nation's customs brokers that it is important to know your customers and their business patterns.

Starting Jan. 25, all Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-flagged products must have a Message Set or a valid disclaimer filed in ACE.

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 is no secret to NCBFAA forwarder members that they spend a good deal of energy explaining export compliance responsibilities to the less educated exporters, only to hear occasionally that “you are the only forwarder who is asking me for this information.”

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:

In less than 60 days, a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quota system for bulk HFC production and imports will take effect. The final rule implements the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) 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. For now, the rule only applies to bulk shipments, not products containing HFCs.

The USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) alerted the trade to the fact that tomato entries filed in ACE for AMS Marketing Order message sets are receiving a reject message for HTS subheadings that are not subject to program requirements.