Monday Morning eBriefing

NCBFAA RAC Co-Chair Mike Lahar participated in a panel at the Grocery Manufacturers (GMA) annual Science Forum, giving food importers the perspective of customs brokers on the upcoming FSVP requirements, which go into effect on May 30, 2017. During the panel presentation, Lahar called FSVP "a game changer." Lahar told the attendees:

To all of our members, partners and friends who joined us in New Orleans recently for 2017 NCBFAA Annual Conference, we thank you and hope you enjoyed a productive Conference experience. Be sure to mark your calendars for next year's Conference in Rancho Mirage, CA at the Westin Mission Hills from April 29 to May 3, 2018. For those unable to join us this year, we hope that you will consider joining us next year. The NCBFAA's next Conference event will be the Annual Government Affairs Conference, September 10-12, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. We hope very much to see all of our members and partners there.

FMC Acting Chairman Michael Khouri and three of his fellow Commissioners recently discussed a broad array of shipping policy issues with a delegation of Washington-based foreign diplomats who specialize in maritime matters.

Reminder - Adding Contact Information to your ACE Portal Account - All ACE Secure Data Portal Account Owners are reminded to add contact information to all the sub-accounts in your ACE portal account. Failure to add contact information to your account may prevent additional sub-tabs and portlets from being displayed within the different levels of your ACE Portal account view. It is also important to keep contact information up-to-date to avoid delays in communication between CBP and users from your account. For assistance adding or updating contact information in your ACE Portal account, please contact the ACE Accounts Service Desk at 1-866-530-4172 or you may send an email to: ACE.Support@cbp.dhs.gov.

In last week's article entitled, "NCBFAA ALERT: Critical Information for Your Food Importing Clients!" we overstated what FSVP Importer information you have to submit to ACE at the time of entry. You DO NOT have to provide the FDA food facility registration number for the FSVP Importer - just the name, contact info, and DUNS number.

Starting May 27, 2017, the FDA will begin implementing the FDA's Food Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).

On Friday, March 3, NCBFAA leaders spent two hours discussing areas for improving regulations with Acting FMC Chairman Michael Khouri. Meeting with the Acting Chairman were NCBFAA President Geoffrey Powell, NCBFAA Transportation Counsel Edward Greenberg, NCBFAA Legislative Representative Jon Kent, and NCBFAA Transportation Committee Chair Jan Fields.

ACE Portal Reminder: Data Available in ACE Reports - The ACE Secure Data Portal provides users the ability to run reports to capture import and export transaction data. ACE Portal users have the option to run standard canned reports, modify existing predefined reports, or create customized reports using ad-hoc capabilities available in the ACE reporting tool. Users can also select reports that capture data originating from ACE or the legacy ACS. ACE Report data is refreshed nightly, and hourly for a select group of reports.

During a meeting of the NCBFAA Customs Committee with CBP management, we learned that our ongoing effort to modernize the regulations governing customs brokers has been put on hold indefinitely by CBP. Characterized as the Part 111 rewrite, the proposals have been under review by CBP's Office of Regulations and Review (ORR) and encompass several primary topics:

The decades-old US-EU beef dispute is again firing up, following a petition filed in December by the US beef industry asking the USTR to reinstate retaliatory tariffs against a range of EU products. The USTR held a public hearing on February 15 to gather views on whether to impose tariffs and, if so, what products should be placed on the list.

Ruling H276784 (here) addressed the issue of whether a broker could pay a referral fee to a non-licensed entity. CBP Headquarters interpreted 19 CFR 111.36 to preclude the payment of a commission to an unlicensed entity. CBP reasoned that because a commission is generally a percentage of the fee paid for services, section 111.36(a), would bar the payment of commissions to unlicensed persons, as it is derived from the fees paid by clients for Customs business. In contrast, CBP opined that a different payment method, such as a flat amount paid by the broker to its agents that is not tied to any particular transaction, would not trigger the regulation.

The NCBFAA Board of Directors would like to acknowledge the following 37 new members approved at the January 21 meeting in Charlotte, NC.

ACE Portal Reminders: Disabling your Internet Browser's Pop-Up Blocker and Creating Individual User Login IDs - U.S. Customs and Border Protection would like to remind all ACE Secure Data Portal users of the need to disable your Internet browser pop-up blocker when launching the following application modules in the ACE portal:

Commerce Secretary Designate Wilbur Ross was well received by the Commerce Committee during a four-hour confirmation hearing on Wednesday. In a soft-spoken manner, the Commerce nominee gave detailed answers on a wide range of issues. "I am not anti-trade," he said, but rather, described himself as "pro-sensible trade." Access to our markets should be allowed for those countries who also play fair, he said. "We cannot allow trade that is bad for American workers and businesses," he explained. Ross named the expansion of exports as his number one objective. With regard to Canada and Mexico, the Secretary Designate said NAFTA is "logically" the first trade topic for the Trump Administration to address. "We have to solidify the relationships...in our territory before we go off to other jurisdictions," he said, calling NAFTA a "very early" priority.

John Kelly gave an impressive performance during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee, earning bipartisan praise from Committee members. Kelly was introduced by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who called the DHS nominee "a reliable, competent leader, capable of managing a complex, multipart operation." Kelly showed a firm grasp of the issues and was very straightforward in his responses. Committee Democrat Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) commented that the Committee had clearly "won the lottery" of Cabinet nominees. The hearing focused on security issues, with no mention of CBP or trade-related matters. Kelly's confirmation is expected to proceed smoothly.

The Senate is moving forward quickly to confirm Trump's cabinet nominees. During the week of January 9, eight confirmation hearings are scheduled, including:

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) insists that the Committee's tax reform bill will eliminate the so-called "Made in America" tax (which is part of the current tax code), despite concerns from the business community about its impact. Calling it a "backwards feature of our nation's tax code," a committee document described an example of how the tax code penalizes companies who manufacture products in America:

The FMC has approved an amendment to THE Alliance Agreement to go into effect that permits establishing a contingency fund to help member carriers manage through, and recover from, the insolvency or financial distress of a participating line.