Due to the ongoing Government shutdown, the NCBFAA will have to postpone our upcoming "The New Normal at the FMC" Summit. The event, which was scheduled to feature the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) Acting Chairman Michael Khouri and Commissioner Rebecca Dye, will be rescheduled after the reopening of the Federal Government. If you have registered for the event, we will be issuing you a full refund.

With a Federal government shutdown officially underway, the NCBFAA has reached out to representatives of Partner Government Agencies (PGA) for information regarding the arrangements they have in place for the processing of Import and Export cargo. Please see below for agency guidance and procedure.

The NCBFAA has relayed the issues our members are experiencing to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in regard to their practice of voiding inactive importer numbers. CBP has acknowledged that their scope was a bit broad and have put a temporary halt to the process. They are currently reevaluating the process and may expand the period. CBP expects to relaunch the program at the beginning of the year with, perhaps, a broader period of 18-24 months. The NCBFAA Customs Committee has received many examples of the challenges experienced during the initial program. We would like to send examples of erroneous voiding, whether the program has too narrow a period, and suggestions to CBP for consideration, as they develop a revised program. If you have any examples or suggestions, please send them to Megan Montgomery and we will incorporate them into a submission to CBP.

In a tour de force of Congressional testifying, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan spoke at length and in great detail about border issues before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Tuesday.

Importers are required to file a certificate advising whether they have entered into an agreement or otherwise has received reimbursement of AD duties. If an importer fails to provide a statement of reimbursement prior to liquidation, CBP will presume reimbursement and double the duties. Blanket certificates for either a 12-month period or the length of the administrative review period are acceptable. An officer of the importer must sign the certificate; a customs broker cannot sign the certificate. The certificate should be filed prior to liquidation although certificates may be presented with a CBP protest to rebut the reimbursement presumption and cancel the doubling of the duties for the failure to submit the certificate.

In order to better serve our members during ACE outages, the NCBFAA has added "Port Downtime Procedures" to its website. Found under the "Publications and Resources" tab, the ACE Downtime Procedures page has lists of specific ports and their guidelines to help facilitate trade efficiently during computer system downtimes.

On November 14, President Trump announced he was appointing Daniel Maffei and Louis Sola as Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Commissioners.

On November 14, President Trump announced he was appointing Daniel Maffei and Louis Sola as Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Commissioners.

Announced via CSMS #18-000663, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released submission instruction guidance on the submission of imports excluded from duties on steel or aluminum products.

On October 30, President Trump issued Presidential Proclamation 9813, which implemented changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) by removing the eligibility of certain goods for preferential duty treatment and makes changes to Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classifications. This Proclamation went in to effect on November 1.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided guidance for the additional duties on U.S. imports of Brazilian products that are subject to the July 30 Executive Order (EO), “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” and will become effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 6.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are reviewing the details of the numerous reciprocal tariffs that took effect Aug. 1, the new 35% Canadian product tariff, the Section 232 import duties on copper and copper derivative products, and the end to de minimis for commercial shipments effective on Aug. 29. The Committee will report any ongoing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance related to these White House actions to our customs broker members as soon as it’s released by the agency.

Recognizing the rapid and unexpected increase in duties, customs brokers and warehouse proprietors increasingly are encountering situations of unclaimed, rejected, and abandoned cargo. In response, the NCBFAA Customs Committee, Transportation Committee, Committee Counsel, and Leadership have collaboratively developed a guidance document to assist NCBFAA Regular Members to address the recurring questions regarding this cargo and to clarify the rights of the transacting parties, as well as service providers.

The Vanguard Pest Control treatment provider informed the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that it will discontinue phytosanitary fumigations and close its treatment facility at the Newark, New Jersey, location at the end of July. APHIS provided guidance to the trade.

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

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided guidance for the additional duties on U.S. imports of Brazilian products that are subject to the July 30 Executive Order (EO), “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” and will become effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 6.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are reviewing the details of the numerous reciprocal tariffs that took effect Aug. 1, the new 35% Canadian product tariff, the Section 232 import duties on copper and copper derivative products, and the end to de minimis for commercial shipments effective on Aug. 29. The Committee will report any ongoing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance related to these White House actions to our customs broker members as soon as it’s released by the agency.

Recognizing the rapid and unexpected increase in duties, customs brokers and warehouse proprietors increasingly are encountering situations of unclaimed, rejected, and abandoned cargo. In response, the NCBFAA Customs Committee, Transportation Committee, Committee Counsel, and Leadership have collaboratively developed a guidance document to assist NCBFAA Regular Members to address the recurring questions regarding this cargo and to clarify the rights of the transacting parties, as well as service providers.

The Vanguard Pest Control treatment provider informed the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that it will discontinue phytosanitary fumigations and close its treatment facility at the Newark, New Jersey, location at the end of July. APHIS provided guidance to the trade.

A summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided guidance for the additional duties on U.S. imports of Brazilian products that are subject to the July 30 Executive Order (EO), “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,” and will become effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 6.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., are reviewing the details of the numerous reciprocal tariffs that took effect Aug. 1, the new 35% Canadian product tariff, the Section 232 import duties on copper and copper derivative products, and the end to de minimis for commercial shipments effective on Aug. 29. The Committee will report any ongoing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) guidance related to these White House actions to our customs broker members as soon as it’s released by the agency.

Recognizing the rapid and unexpected increase in duties, customs brokers and warehouse proprietors increasingly are encountering situations of unclaimed, rejected, and abandoned cargo. In response, the NCBFAA Customs Committee, Transportation Committee, Committee Counsel, and Leadership have collaboratively developed a guidance document to assist NCBFAA Regular Members to address the recurring questions regarding this cargo and to clarify the rights of the transacting parties, as well as service providers.

The Vanguard Pest Control treatment provider informed the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that it will discontinue phytosanitary fumigations and close its treatment facility at the Newark, New Jersey, location at the end of July. APHIS provided guidance to the trade.

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