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.

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC), in an August 3 release, has determined that a U.S. industry is materially injured by reason of imports of emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland that the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has determined are sold in the United States at less than fair value.

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.

While we have seen the amount of solicitations decrease precipitously in the last month, some members have reported receiving unwanted emails from a select few email addresses. We are continuing our investigation into the cause of these emails and we'd ask people take additional steps to protect themselves against solicitations and attacks.

NAFTA renegotiation suddenly became very real this week, with the formal release of the Administration's negotiating objectives and a House Ways and Means hearing to focus attention on the upcoming talks which are scheduled to begin August 16. The first round will be held in Washington, DC. Within the trade community, the U.S. Trade Representative's Negotiating Objectives document was greeted with a sigh of relief.

FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye launched the second phase of the agency's Supply Chain Innovation Teams initiative. Phase two will focus on identifying the "actionable" information needed by supply chain actors for improved supply chain system visibility, reliability and resilience.

Scheduled for shutdown in the wake of the July 8 primary deployment of core trade processing capabilities in ACE, CBP's ABI Query for Foreign Currency Rates service got a reprieve when CBP postponed the ACE deployment last week. This is welcome news to the trade as numerous industry voices had sought continuation of the service, which provides daily foreign currency exchange rate information in easily downloadable EXCEL and PDF formats. However, it is unclear how long the service will remain available.

NCBFAA responded to a request for comments from the US Trade Representative on the upcoming NAFTA renegotiation, focusing on such association priorities as duty drawback. NAFTA Article 303 places restrictions on the use of drawback. "Duty drawback is a valuable export promotion program," wrote NCBFAA President Geoff Powell. "Goods exported to Mexico and Canada from other countries with which Mexico and Canada have FTAs receive better treatment...than do U.S. U.S. exporters, creating an unfair playing field for U.S. manufacturers, exporters and workers."

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.