NCBFAA Says CBP Should Ease Its Rulings on Strict Confidentiality
CBP should revoke or modify some long-standing interpretative rulings that the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NBCFAA) believes have created an overly strict confidentiality standard, the group said in a letter to CBP. NCBFAA asked that CBP adopt a standard that requires brokers to maintain the confidentiality of an importer's "proprietary business information," generally defined as information that could harm the importer's competitive position if disclosed.
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NCBFAA also asked CBP to confirm that the confidentiality requirement doesn't extend to information that would otherwise be publicly available, it said in the letter. It also said it would like to create an exception to the confidentiality requirement that permits a broker to share information with an attorney or liability carrier in situations where the broker is forced to defend itself against a claim from the importer.
Some CBP rulings issued over the last decade have interpreted the provisions of 19 CFR 111.24 to preclude brokers from disclosing the most basic client information to any third party (including affiliated businesses) without first obtaining a confidentiality waiver from the client, NCBFAA said in a press release. "This interpretation fails to consider that there are numerous situations where the broker is required to share this information with a third party to facilitate the client's transactions," the release said. It also said CBP has "maintained this position despite the proliferation of data mining services and the fact that other parties in the supply chain are not subject to any restriction on the disclosure of same client information."
NCBFAA said in the release that CBP has preliminarily expressed a willingness to consider the proposals. It said if CBP agrees to modify or revoke the rulings, a notice will be published in the Customs Bulletin and interested parties will be able to comment.
(For a copy of the NCBFAA press release, contact ITTNews@warren-news.com or the NCBFAA.)