Monday Morning eBriefing

NCBFAA recently submitted questions to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) filing issues and received responses from the agency. CBP also asked that NCBFAA continue to share questions that are coming up repeatedly for the customs broker community, and the agency will do its best to get responses back to the association. Note: Submit your questions regarding CAPE to NCBFAA at cape@ncbfaa.org.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Executive Director for the Trade Programs Directorate in the Office of Trade, Brandon Lord, on May 12 provided the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) with an update on Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) Phase 1 declaration filings, as of May 11 at 7 a.m. ET.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2610 on May 7 which contains two harmonized tariff records and four ABI records. Specifically, this HSU contains the Section 232 USMCA-Qualifying Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (MHDVs) HTS updates.

China’s General Administration of Customs is tightening its rules governing inspection and quarantine procedures for imported and exported cosmetics, with the new measures scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, 2026. The changes are intended to bring customs oversight more closely in line with China’s broader domestic cosmetics regulatory system and to create more standardized procedures at the border.

The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) on May 7 has ruled the Section 122 tariffs unlawful in a 2-1 split decision. NCBFAA Customs Counsel and Legislative Advisor of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. provides an analysis of this CIT decision and what to expect following the U.S. government's May 8 appeal for our customs broker members.

President Trump in a May 7 Truth Social post said tariffs on goods imported from the European Union “would immediately jump to much higher levels,” if the EU does not “cut their Tariffs to ZERO” by July 4. “I’ve been waiting patiently for the EU to fulfill their side of the Historic Trade Deal we agreed in Turnberry, Scotland, the largest Trade Deal, ever!” he added in the post, which followed a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) recently took its Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) Importer Claims System offline to correct erroneous import entry data they had received from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The system was back online starting Tuesday, May 5.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reminded the trade that, effective April 22, drawback claims transmitted in ACE will be routed directly to the Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Minerals Center of Excellence and Expertise for more effective and efficient workload processing.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reminds trade members to remain vigilant in protecting their information against scammers when seeking IEEPA refunds. “With the launch of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), CBP expects that scammers will attempt to use social media, email, and other communication methods to secure account information from importers in order to interfere with the process of refunding International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) duties,” the agency said in a May 7 CSMS.

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

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome Baker Tilly and Sunday Omogoriola Ojajuni dba Elyon Customs Broker, 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!

To help the trade prepare and monitor Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) declaration submissions, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided multiple ACE Reports products. On April 20, CBP released the CAPE tool in the ACE Portal to streamline the submission and processing of valid refund requests for duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on May 6 provided guidance to the trade regarding the technical corrections to Annex IV of Presidential Proclamation 11021, “Strengthening Actions Taken to Adjust Imports of Aluminum, Steel, and Copper into the United States.”

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on May 6 provided guidance to the trade on applying the 25% Section 232 duties imposed by Proclamation 10984 exclusively to the value of the non-U.S. content for approved imports of MHDVs qualifying for preferential tariff treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a May 6 Federal Register notice announced that the ACE Export Manifest for Air Cargo Test will continue for another two years, effective May 6, 2026. The test allows CBP to examine the functionality of filing export manifest data for air cargo electronically in ACE.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implementation of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) continues to take shape, with the agency highlighting progress made since the law’s enactment in late 2022. MoCRA significantly expanded FDA’s oversight of cosmetics, an area that had seen relatively limited regulatory change for decades. The law introduced several new requirements for industry, including mandatory facility registration for manufacturers and processors, product listing, and reporting of serious adverse events. It also granted FDA new authorities, such as mandatory recall and access to certain records.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has issued proposed regulations that would revise several aspects of the firearms import framework. The changes are intended to reflect current industry practices and streamline certain administrative requirements. It is part of a broader "New Era of Reform" initiative launched by ATF in 2025. While still in the proposal stage, the updates may be of interest to customs brokers handling firearms-related entries.

President Trump in a Truth Social post on Friday, May 1, announced that a tariff on automobiles manufactured and imported from the European Union into the U.S. will increase to 25%, adding that he is imposing this tariff increase “based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week.”

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on April 29 issued Harmonized System Update (HSU) 2609 which contains six Harmonized Tariff Records and 19 Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reminds ACE Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal) Trade Account Owners (TAO) that TAOs can self-manage access for Proxy Trade Account Owners (PTAO) and Trade Account Users (TAU), including access reactivation.