On April 19, 2023, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued the largest standalone administrative penalty in its history.  The US Company and its Singaporean affiliate were imposed a $300 million civil penalty to resolve alleged violations of U.S. Export Controls related to selling hard disk drives to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.  The US Company continued to do business with Huawei despite being aware of the August 2020 controls that BIS imposed on Huawei.  This is another reminder of the importance of entity screening and the need to discontinue relations with sanctioned entities.  To read more details, check out the BIS press release in the link below.

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Laurie Arnold, JAS Vice President of Compliance and the NCBFAA Treasurer, spoke on the panel "Past, Present, & Future" at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association's (NCBFAA) 50th annual conference in New Orleans.  Pulling out her "crystal ball," Laurie speculated on what the future work environment might look like considering the ongoing development of Artificial Intelligence and chat apps.  The panel also discussed the environmental benefits of remote work and the potential danger of cyberattacks on business, power grids and the water supply.

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As a reminder, per 15 CFR 30.60, the Electronic Export Information (EEI) collected by the Census Bureau is confidential and it "shall not be disclosed to anyone by any officer, employee, contractor, agent of the federal government or other parties with access to the EEI other than to the USPPI or the authorized agent of the USPPI." 

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The Internal Revenue Service issued its much anticipated notice of proposed rulemaking outlining the requirements for electric vehicle eligibility for the Section 30D New Clean Vehicle Credit of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.  A total credit of $7,500 is available provided that; 40% of the critical minerals used to manufacture the vehicle's battery must be extracted or processed in the U.S. or any country the U.S. has a free trade agreement with (which increases to 80% by 2026); and 50% of the battery components must be manufactured or assembled in North America (which increases to 100% by 2028).  There are also maximum vehicle value limitations and phased in prohibitions for components and minerals coming from a "foreign entity of concern" (to be defined at a later date).  Check out the full Federal Register notice at the link below:

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The implementation of UFLPA has led to a marked increase in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detentions which, at present, are notified to the trade via a paper CBP form 6051D Notice of Detention.  On May 20, 2023, CBP will deploy to the ACE Secure Data Portal the automation of the form to allow the trade to complete the form and provide additional documentation to CBP via the portal.

The lead Congressional sponsor of UFLPA, Senators Jeffrey Merkley and Marco Rubio and Representatives James McGovern and Christopher Smith, sent a letter to Robert Silvers, Chair of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF) requesting, inter alia, more robust reporting to Congress of UFLPA enforcement measures, expansion of the Entity List, and increased scrutiny of de minimis shipments.  To read more, click the button below.

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The 9th annual Global Trade Education Conference (G-TEC), hosted by the NCBFAA Educational Instistute (NEI) will be held at the Omni Hotel in Oklahoma City, OK from July 31 toAugust 1, 2023. G-TEC is the premier industry training conference and this year's event includes a Pre-Conference Workshop on Sunday afternoon. For more details and registration information, click below.

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