Monday Morning eBriefing

President Trump on April 9 signed the “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” Executive Order in an effort to enhance the U.S. shipbuilding capacity and maritime workforce as a countermeasure to China’s current maritime industry dominance.

The NCBFAA leadership and staff congratulates the new slate of the Board of Directors who were elected in by the Regular Membership during the Annual Meeting on Monday, April 7, at the 52nd NCBFAA Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

The 52nd NCBFAA Annual Conference at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 6-9 was a resounding success in terms of timely and highly informative content, particularly as it relates to the customs broker industry’s response to recently imposed tariffs.

Past NCBFAA President Geoff Powell received the coveted NCBFAA Centurion Award during the closing ceremony of the 52nd Annual Conference at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 9. NCBFAA presented this award to Powell, a longtime NCBFAA Member, Committee Chair, Past President, and Senior Counselor of the association, in appreciation of his outstanding vision, leadership, and dedication to the betterment of the international freight transportation community.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is stepping up efforts to review food import entries, as concerns increase over inaccurate identification of the "FSV Importer" on entry documents. The Food Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) places responsibility on importers to verify that their foreign suppliers are producing food that meets U.S. food safety standards.

A summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable.

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 White House Executive Order issued April 2 stated that all articles imported into the U.S. will be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent, effective 12:01 a.m. ET on April 5. President Trump on April 2 also signed an Executive Order to eliminate duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value imports from China, effective May 2 at 12:01 a.m. ET. In addition, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to provide guidance to trade with entry filing instructions pertinent to these tariffs. The NCBFAA Customs Committee and its Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., continue to monitor these tariffs and their impact on our customs broker members.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel at all U.S. ports of entry have begun detentions of sea salt products produced by Taepyung Salt Farm, effective April 2. The agency said it issued the WRO against Taepyung Salt Farm based on information that “reasonably indicates the use of forced labor” in violation of 19 U.S.C. § 1307 in the production of that merchandise.

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) turned to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for guidance on how to file Lacey Act information for a Lacey-flagged tariff that also contains steel or aluminum.

The 52nd NCBFAA Annual Conference at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona, is being held April 6-9. For those members who are unable to attend this year’s event, we urge you to look forward to the 53rd NCBFAA Annual Conference to be held at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, on April 12-15, 2026. Keep in mind to register as soon as possible, since this industry-leading event will undoubtedly be another sold-out event!

The NCBFAA Customs Committee’s HTS Sequencing Working Group led by Myra Reynolds of John S. James Co. has developed the HTS Sequencing Toolkit which provides important information to NCBFAA Regular Members about the requirements for Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) sequencing.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is currently soliciting for a Centralized Examination Station (CES) in the Area Port of Houston/Galveston, Houston Seaport. Applications for the CES will be accepted for 60 days, from April 4 to June 3.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Atlas Freight Forwarding, Border Connect Logistics dba R&R Global, Precision Customs Brokers, Sabin International Logistics Corp., Schulz Trade Law, and The Global Zolutions, which have recently joined our association. We're so excited to have these firms join our organization and we are happy to assist in any way we can!

A summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable.

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 Customs Committee is monitoring the potential imposition of the reciprocal tariffs on countries which have disproportionately higher tariffs on U.S. goods as early as April 2 and what that will mean to customs brokers. In addition, the White House intends to impose 25% tariffs on imported cars and light trucks and certain vehicle parts as early as April 3, and some countries may be subject to additional tariffs of 25%, starting April 2, for importing oil from Venezuela. In addition, President Trump indicated that he will soon announce tariffs on lumber, pharmaceuticals, and possibly on computer chips, among other products.

The National Marine Fisheries (NMFS) reached a settlement with three wildlife advocacy groups in a Court of International Trade (CIT) case. In return for dismissal of the case, NMFS promised to adhere to a timeline for implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which requires the government to ban fish from fisheries that do not meet U.S. standards for protecting marine mammals.

The trade associations that comprise the North American Customs Brokers Alliance (NACBA) expressed their endorsement for the continuation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which entered into force on July 1, 2020, and is currently undergoing review by the three countries to extend the agreement for another 16 years.

The sold out 52nd NCBFAA Annual Conference at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix, Arizona, to be held on April 6-9 is now just around the corner. We look forward to seeing everyone there!