Monday Morning eBriefing

The Biden administration had proposed tariffs in response to a pair of Section 301 investigations alleging currency manipulation and illegal timber practices in Vietnam.

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:

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) ACE Coordinator Rhyan Tompkins updated the NCBFAA Board on the upcoming mandatory ACE filing rollout. The FWS ACE filing program is still technically in the pilot phase. However, the pilot is open to any filer at any designated port. Tompkins emphasized that the CATAIR is final and software developers can update brokers' systems with confidence.

The NCBFAA earlier this year joined the Airforwarders Association and Airports Council International-North America in comprehensively surveying their memberships about the factors currently challenging the ability to move freight through the nation's airport infrastructure.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued draft guidance outlining its oversight activities for covered foods imported from countries with Systems Recognition Agreements (SRAs).

As with many large trade associations, the NCBFAA maintains outside counsel positions for guidance and to provide the membership with the highest quality of service available. To that end, we currently contract with two legal counsels, covering general association operations and customs and transportation matters, as well as legislative representative.

President Biden on July 13 announced that he intends to nominate Alan Estevez to be the Commerce Department's next undersecretary for industry and security in charge of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

The following message was originally broadcast by the Airforwarders Association which granted the NCBFAA Air Freight Subcommittee permission to send out to our membership:

The Census Bureau plans to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring the specific country of origin information for all foreign goods on Electronic Export Information (EEI) filings in the Automated Export System.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and the Justice Department's Antitrust Division today signed an interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to foster increased cooperation and communication in their respective oversight and enforcement responsibilities of the ocean liner shipping industry.

The Census Bureau plans to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring the specific country of origin information for all foreign goods on Electronic Export Information (EEI) filings in the Automated Export System.

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:

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked the import community who deal in FDA-regulated articles to use the Import Trade Auxiliary Communication System (ITACS) for current entry status and to receive Notices of FDA Action electronically.

In a win for the importer-plaintiffs, the U.S. Court of International Trade on July 6 granted a preliminary injunction to suspend the liquidation of unliquidated import entries subject to Lists 3 and 4A duties subject to the Section 301 litigation. Plaintiffs should work with their respective counsel, as appropriate, to ensure they provide additional information that the court requires regarding unliquidated entries and also are handling liquidated entries appropriately.

President Biden on July 9 signed an executive order aimed at promoting competition throughout the U.S. economy, including among freight railroads and the ocean shipping industry.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reminded the trade community that former U.S. export restrictions imposed on certain medical supplies and equipment to combat the spread of COVID-19 are now lifted.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revoked the Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for non-NIOSH-approved disposable respirators, effective July 6, and the EUAs for decontamination and bioburden reduction systems, effective June 30.

The House Appropriations Homeland Security Committee on June 29 released its fiscal year 2022 appropriations bill, which provides $14.11 billion in net discretionary appropriations for Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has appointed Alberto Flores to serve as port director of the Laredo, Texas port of entry.

NCBFAA's 2021 Membership Directory has been published and will be arriving in your mailbox shortly.