Commissioner Says CBP Must Address Antiquated Customs Broker Laws
On April 9, 2008, at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America's Annual Conference, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Basham spoke about the need to address some of CBP's dated Customs broker policies and laws. Highlights of his remarks include:
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Triennial Status Report
CBP needs to address some of its antiquated broker processes. The triennial status report, for example, preceded the world of automation and has a disproportionate penalty for forgetting to timely file the triennial status report. Should a broker forget to file this report on time, their license can be revoked almost immediately.
This is a rather draconian response for forgetting to mail what amounts to a change of address notice - CBP needs to bring that process into the 21st Century.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 01/18/08 news, 08011825, for BP summary of the CIT ruling that it had no authority to grant relief to a Customs broker whose license was revoked for failure to file a triennial report due to illness.)
Broker's License
At the other end of the spectrum, last year in the KDL case1 out of New York, brokers were indicted and arrested for smuggling. However, CBP could not suspend their licenses, even for the matter of national security.
Legislation Has Been Drafted to Address Both Issues
CBP needs to protect licensed brokers and their companies from this kind damage. CBP also needs to protect the U.S. from those whose illegal activities threaten the country's health and safety. Legislation has been drafted to address the issues of filing triennial status reports and CBP's ability to suspend or revoke a broker's license.
1CBP sources state that this case may be the one against Chong Lam, Siu Yung Chan (aka Joyce Chan), and Eric Yuen, who were indicted in one of the largest ever counterfeit luxury goods operations in the U.S. (See ITT's Online Archives or 02/04/08, 08020425, for BP summary.)
(This is the second and last BP summary of Basham's remarks from the NCBFAA conference. See ITT's Online Archives or 04/22/08 news, 08042210, for BP's first summary on C-TPAT validations in China.)
Basham's remarks from the NCBFAA Conference (given 04/09/08) available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/commissioner/speeches_statements/ncbfaa.xml