The NCBFAA Legislative Committee is asking all customs brokers for support of The Customs Business Fairness ACT – HR2261.  The bill focuses on customs brokers and sureties seeking change in the bankruptcy laws to provide relief for brokers who have paid duties to CBP on behalf of importers that have subsequently filed for bankruptcy.

Laurie Arnold (Regulatory Compliance Officer at JAS Forwarding that is also the Legislative Committee Chair for NCBFAA), stated that one letter from the group is not enough to get a lawmaker's office to sign on to sponsor. "We need to bombard these offices and tell them it is an important issue for us," she said on a call with members June 13. "One letter isn’t going to do it."

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An announcement was made in the Federal Register that certain products could be removed from the duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences while others could retain or be reinstated.  The International Trade Commission is currently investigating, and a public hearing is being held on July 2nd.  Following the public hearing, the ITC is expected to submit a list of items in September 2019.

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A notice published by the United States Trade Representative announced that U.S. stakeholders may request exclusion for products on List 3 of the China tariffs.  The electronic portal for submission of exclusion requests will open on June 30, 2019 and will close on September 30, 2019.

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G-TEC 2019

Date:  July 29-30, 2019

Location:  New Orleans, LA

The NCBFAA Educational Institute invites all global logistics professionals to its Fifth Annual Global Trade Educational Conference (G·TEC). This two-day event in beautiful New Orleans, LA will give customs brokers, freight forwarders, NVOCCs, OTI, service providers, importers, exporters and all global logistics professionals an opportunity to update themselves on industry developments and connect with colleagues new and old.

REGISTER HERE

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Complying with U.S. Export Controls

Date:  July 24-25, 2019

Location:  St. Louis, MO

The two-day program is led by BIS's professional counseling staff and provides an in-depth examination of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The program will cover the information exporters need to know to comply with U.S. export control requirements on commercial goods, and other items subject to the EAR.

REGISTER HERE

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One of the most exciting things to do for the 4th of July holiday is to see fireworks with family and friends!  Did you know that 88% of fireworks in the United States are imported?  It is considered a very specialized product with tons of regulations.  CBP seizes tons of firework shipments annually that never make it past the US port of entry.  So before getting into the business of importing fireworks consulting with a customs broker like JAS is very important!  Happy Independence Day!!

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Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) is but one layer in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) multi-layered cargo enforcement strategy. Through this program, CBP works with the trade community to strengthen international supply chains and improve United States border security.

How CTPAT works? When an entity joins CTPAT, an agreement is made to work with CBP to protect the supply chain, identify security gaps, and implement specific security measures and best practices. Applicants must address a broad range of security topics and present security profiles that list action plans to align security throughout the supply chain.

CTPAT members are considered to be of low risk and are therefore less likely to be examined at a U.S. port of entry.

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Approximately 100 additional products have been added to a list of goods imported from the European Union that could be subject to additional tariffs in a long-running dispute over aircraft subsidies. Importers of these goods should consider taking proactive measures to mitigate the impact of any potential tariff increase. A public hearing on the products will be held Aug. 5th and written comments are also due on that date.

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