Monday Morning eBriefing

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) continues to work with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to raise awareness and use of E-Phytos, a visionary global solution to the challenge of transferring phytosanitary certificates through the supply chain.

Some of you may occasionally receive questionable electronic communications which are believed to be part of phishing schemes. Always ignore and delete these communications!

NCBFAA reaffirmed its commitment to the North American Customs Brokers Alliance (NACBFA) whose leadership includes customs broker associations in Mexico and Canada to address issues related to the North American trade block.

The United Nations is seeking to expand its pool of freight forwarders with solid experience in transportation services of military equipment, including dangerous goods, ammunition, explosives, armored vehicles, etc., to and from African countries such as Mali, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, etc.

Now is not the time to slow down on contacting your local Congressional offices to ask them to support the Customs Business Fairness Act (CBFA) (H.R. 4816).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that, as the agency transitions to a return to the workplace and workplace flexibilities, they will continue to allow paper Notices of Arrival (NOA) of Pesticides and Devices (EPA Form 3540-1) to be submitted by email or uploaded in DIS.

Every customs broker knows that interacting with Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) can be the most challenging part of their job. The PGA data requirements are often demanding. And, on top of that, there are just so many agencies!

NCBFAA during its 49th Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona, on May 1-4 elected a new slate officers and board members to govern our association for 2022-2024.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) requesting public comment on whether ocean carrier tariffs should be available free of charge and if the definition of co-loading should be changed to apply only to less than container loads.

Here is a summary of the latest legislative and regulatory transport, logistics and trade sector updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Transportation Counsel firm Venable:

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

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee’s Logistics Subcommittee is regularly collecting data on the nation’s rail delays and port congestion that are impacting the supply chain and your business operations.

NCBFAA’s 49th Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona on May 1-4 was a resounding success! More than 500 attendees, including exhibitors and spouse/guests, attended which far exceeded expectations.

The just-passed omnibus spending bill includes a small but important feature: a provision to add $250 million for the USDA’s Agriculture Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program. USDA APHIS collects the AQI fees which are then used to pay for the CBP agriculture inspectors. The last-minute emergency request for funds from USDA was the result of a shortfall in fee collections due to reduced trade and travel during the pandemic. The additional funds will keep the AQI going through FY2023.

The Ex Works Watchdog keeps clients informed about the issues facing airport and seaport truckers.

The Loadstar on March 16 reported that Maersk was subpoenaed by the DOJ as part of an “ongoing investigation into supply chain disruption. Other than confirmation by Maersk, there is no information available as to why the carrier has been subpoenaed.

With the recent announcement that the U.S. will revoke Russia’s Most Favored Nation Duty Status, NCBFAA urges its members to monitor Customs and Border Protection’s CSMS and other trade-facing announcements as to when goods originating from Russia for U.S. consumption will be subject to exponentially higher column two duty rates. While such tariff rate changes typically track the date of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse, it is possible that they may track the date of export from Russia, in this latter case where goods already exported, but not yet entered, may not carry the higher duty rates.

As with many large trade associations, the NCBFAA maintains outside counsel positions for guidance and to provide the membership with the highest quality of service available. To that end, we currently contract with two legal counsels, covering general association operations and customs and transportation matters, as well as legislative representative.

On behalf of NCBFAA's Board of Directors, Leadership and Staff, we want to take a moment to acknowledge and welcome the following members who have recently joined our association: