Monday Morning eBriefing

The FMC reminds all ocean carriers and shippers impacted by Hurricane Harvey that its Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS) can be of assistance in the aftermath of the storm.

Port Houston Container Terminals Hurricane Harvey FAQs (as of 9/1/2017) DISCLAIMER: Following information is to the best knowledge of Port Houston. Contact your steamship line for information on specific vessels/containers.

The thoughts and prayers of the NCBFAA are with all those who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey this past weekend. For those members who have lost power or have been displaced by the storm, the NCBFAA would like to offer our offices as a temporary work space. Our conference room is equipped with internet access and a widescreen wall-mounted monitor. For availability, please contact dwilliams@ncbfaa.org. We will work hard to accommodate all requests.

Calling it a commitment to transparency in its rulemaking process, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has reinstituted its monthly public Significant Rulemaking Report.

To help businesses meet the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rule for Preventive Controls for Human Food, the FDA has released a new software tool to help owners and operators of food facilities create a food safety plan specific to their facilities.

This week, NCBFAA President Geoffrey Powell will be attending the IFCBA Board of Directors meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to meeting with brokers from around the world at this event, representatives from the U.S., Canada and Mexico will be meeting to discuss NAFTA.

CBP recently announced that it is modifying the ACE Export Manifest for Air Cargo Test, Vessel Cargo Test, and Rail Cargo Test, National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) tests concerning ACE export manifest capability, by making certain of the export manifest data elements optional. CBP is also extending the test and will be accepting additional applications for participation in this modified test from all parties meeting the eligibility requirements.

This Wassenaar Arrangement final rule revises the Commerce Control List (CCL), as well as corresponding parts of the EAR, to implement changes made to the Wassenaar Arrangement List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies (WA List) maintained and agreed to by governments participating in the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies (Wassenaar Arrangement, or WA) at the December 2016 WA Plenary meeting. This rule revises 50 Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs), as well as the WA sensitive list (Supp. No. 6 to part 774), Definitions (Part 772) and License Exception APP (§ 740.7).

Partnerships were the focus of the week for NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery. Last week, she spent time finalizing NCBFAA's Getting to Global partnership with the Department of Commerce and the Media Partnership with American Shipper. Both of these partnerships make the association more effective at advocating for our industry. Additionally, she spent much of her time supporting and preparing for the upcoming Government Affairs Conference.

The NCBFAA and American Shipper recently announced a partnership agreement designed to better serve the needs of their members and readers alike. The focus of this new partnership will be better member and reader service, including an NCBFAA sponsorship of American Shipper's 2018 Import-Export Compliance Benchmark Survey.

As of September 16, all electronic filings of FTZ admission applications must be made in ACE as ACS will be decommissioned for the electronic filing of these applications, according to a recent CBP notice. All other filers will continue to submit FTZ admission applications to CBP on paper.

Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby, USN, Ret., is the latest Administrator of the Maritime Administration. Prior to his appointment, Admiral Buzby served as president of the National Defense Transportation Association (NDTA), a global association of transportation and logistics professionals.

CBP has posted an updated FWS Implementation Guide (IG) and a FWS PGA Message Set Samples document to CBP.gov. To download a copy of the updated PGA documents, please copy and paste the following URLs to your internet browser:

Updated ACE Information Posted on CBP.gov - CBP has updated a webpage and an ACE document on CBP.gov. The updated ACE information includes:

The Department of Commerce announced a preliminary decision to impose countervailing duties on aluminum shipments from China, ranging from 81 percent to 17 percent for four companies and 22 percent on other Chinese companies that are not specifically named. The preliminary decision is part of a routine CVD investigation and is separate from the Administration's broader inquiry into the impact of aluminum and steel imports on national security. Nevertheless, it takes on added importance in the midst of growing tensions over trade with China and prompted a warning from China to the U.S. to "act cautiously....to avoid any negative impact" on economic and trade ties between the two countries.

NCBFAA President Geoff Powell had a very busy week. Early last week, he attended the Global Trade Educational Conference (GTEC) in Long Beach, CA. While in California, he met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information, the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Administration, among others, at the Port of L.A. to discuss productivity and data visibility at the port.

NCBFAA, the Airforwarders Association's (AfA), and indirect air carriers (Admiral Air Express, Inc. d/b/a ALG Admiral, Inc., Commodity Forwarders, Inc., Hassett Express LLC) recently petitioned the TSA to reconsider changes made to certain provisions concerning training in proposed Change 6 to the Indirect Air Carrier Standard Security Program. TSA has listened to our concerns and has indicated today that it itends to shortly release updated training materials which IACs can use to be in compliance with their obligations under Change 6.

On August 3, 2017, the Department of Commerce announced the initiation of antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of cast iron soil pipe fittings from China. The items covered by these investigations are cast iron soil pipe fittings, finished and unfinished, regardless of industry or proprietary specifications, and regardless of size. Cast iron soil pipe fittings are nonmalleable iron castings of various designs and sizes, including, but not limited to, bends, tees, wyes, traps, drains, and other common or special fittings, with or without side inlets.

On Wednesday and Friday of last week, ACE system outages left users scrambling to access the ACE portal, process incoming trade messages and generate responses. CBP recently shared their uniform national procedures for the processing and release of commercial cargo during periods of time when the ACE Cargo Release system is unavailable to process cargo. Though not all inclusive, these guidelines should be considered to efficiently facilitate the secure movement of legitimate trade during computer system downtimes.

On December 2, 2015, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) published their final rule "Mandatory Inspection of Fish of the order Siluriformes and Products Rerived from Such Fish" (80 FR 75590) that established a mandatory inspection program for fish of the order of Siluriformes and for products derived from these fish, including imported fish products. Starting August 2, all imported shipments of Siluriformes fish/fish products are required to be presented for reinspection by FSIS. A list of the official import inspection establishments that handle Siluriformes can be found here. Please note, not all meat inspection facilities can handle this. It needs to be in your Grant of Inspection.