Monday Morning eBriefing

The Commerce Department on June 28 began requiring and collecting aluminum import licenses for all covered entries into the U.S.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated and deployed ACE programming to allow accelerated payment (AP) to be secured by a sufficient and valid 1A continuous bond provided the bond's effective date is on or before the AP request date.

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) announced it will continue to accept electronically produced versions of phytosanitary certificates through Dec. 31, 2021.

Customs and Border Protection's Office of International Trade recently updated its list of companies/persons who provide data processing services to the trade community for the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).

The Census Bureau, which is tasked with collecting the nation's foreign trade statistics, told representatives of the U.S. export community that it has recently held meetings on a proposed rulemaking to clarify the responsibilities of parties participating in "routed" export transactions.

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:

Industry representatives of the 15th Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) have presented more than 550 recommendations over a six-year period to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) leadership, said COAC Co-Chair Lenny Feldman during a June 23 virtual meeting.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) officials joined with customs brokers in a stimulating and informative webinar on CPSC's 1USG Messaging at Import on June 18. CPSC panelists Deputy Director Sabrina Keller and International Trade Specialist John Blachere explained and clarified key elements of their newly implemented messaging system. Customs broker, Adam Lees of Geodis, who has experience with the messaging system since the original pilot was launched over a year ago, shared useful pointers and best practice tips. Mike Lahar of AN Deringer and chairman of the Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) kept the conversation moving as moderator, highlighting areas of confusion and concern.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has selected AnnMarie R. Highsmith as executive assistant commissioner and John P. Leonard as deputy executive assistant commissioner of the Office of Trade.

The Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association (FCBF) recently sent a letter to newly appointed Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Daniel Maffei outlining ocean container carrier practices which are negatively impacting members and has asked the commission to use its statutory authority to intervene.

NCBFAA President Jan Fields submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in response to its April 21 Federal Register notice to help the agency prepare a report to President Biden on the need for resilient and secure food supply chains.

The container shipping markets are in a state unlike anything seen before. There is clearly not sufficient capacity to move all the cargo shippers want to get moved, freight rates are far beyond any previous records, reliability is far worse than at any point in time, and it appears as if every day brings another operational disruption to make matters worse.

Customs and Border Protection CBP has posted on CBP.gov a contact list for local Broker Management Officers (BMOs) by Center of Excellence and Expertise, including BMO name, email, phone number, mailing address, and Assistant Center Director.

As we have reported previously, the Senate passed key trade provisions as part of U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. It is going to be a bit more complicated in the House, in part because of time being spent on the Jobs Act, a large infrastructure package currently under consideration.

President Biden and a group of 10 Democratic and Republican senators reportedly reached agreement on a Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework which includes $579 billion for new infrastructure building. An estimated $109 billion will be for roads and bridges, $66 billion for passenger and freight rail, and $16 billion for ports and waterways.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) still has not issued final guidance on the APHIS-Lacey Phase VI implementation, which is scheduled to occur July 1. USDA leadership is considering multiple requests to extend the deadline. The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) has warned APHIS that the trade must have adequate lead time to prepare for implementation, emphasizing that it will be impossible to implement with only a week's notice.

The Senate on June 16 held a hearing to examine improvements in security, trade, and travel at U.S. land border ports of entry.

Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg PA now offers discounts to fellow NCBFAA members when they register for an STR-hosted webinar. Here's the link to the discount

In early April, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments on how non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) apply pass-through charges under their tariffs, and the reasonableness of certain tariff access fees. The ANPRM is a part of the FMC's initiative to review existing regulations to determine whether they are outdated, unnecessary, or ineffective.

The USDA's Perishable Agricultural Commodities (PACA) Division is reaching out to the produce industry to see if there are ways in which PACA can better serve the industry. See PACA's note to the industry, below, and feel free to share with your clients. You can provide feedback to the PACA contacts shown below.