Brokers Seeing More CF-29s Doled Out

"Starting last year, we started to see a lot more activity in CF-28, and now we are seeing that activity really shift to the CF-29 process," said Brenda Smith, global director of government outreach for Expeditors. CF-28 forms are requests for additional information on an entry, while CF-29 forms inform importers of CBP's decision. "And what I'm hearing anecdotally is, many more than we had seen previously are not proposed anymore; [instead] they are final action, which puts a whole new burden on brokers and US importers."

Expeditors tracks the 28 and 29 forms it receives from CBP, and it also tracks such forms it gets as customs brokers or on behalf of customers, according to Smith. Year-to-date totals for these two forms are more than double what Expeditors received in 2024, Smith said.

"The bulk of that activity really is happening in the CF-29 area, which is a bit unusual," she said.

Expeditors also has analyzed statistics around forced labor, including the sectoral shifts in CBP's focus. While fiscal year 2026 only just started on Oct. 1, CBP is "hitting the ground running," and 157 detentions have already taken place, with 79 of those detentions focused on apparel, footwear and textiles, Smith said, referring to data on CBP's website.

In addition to discussing penalties and CF-28 and -29 forms, Smith and the other webinar speakers, Stephanie Holloway, director of customs operations, and Madeleine Veigel, director of customs for the Americas, discussed the Supreme Court hearing on the tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and provided updates on the various Section 232 tariffs and updates on the negotiations for the free trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

"The three governments are in the process of collecting and collating stakeholder input," and there are still negotiations happening between the three countries, although not all of them are related to trade, Smith said. This administration really wants to solve a number of issues, not only with Canada, like dairy and softwood lumber, but also with Mexico, and those tend to be outside of the trade realm, she said.

"The question that I'm hearing a lot of is, Will this really be a trilateral negotiation where the three countries are trading off things and they're agreeing to work together around a North American sphere of prosperity, or is this really the U.S. negotiating with Canada and the U.S. with Mexico?" Smith said. "I know those negotiations are underway. They have been happening, really since February, and I think there will be a lot of activity in this space."

CBP may also be considering changes to what constitutes the rules of origin, given that it is addressing that issue for autos and within the context of USMCA, according to Smith. Transshipment is another issue that could see further clarification, she said.

"If your business really touches on any of these issues, you want to be sure you're paying attention to the process and perhaps even being involved with it," Smith said.

Holloway summarized recent trade actions, including discussing duty offsets for autos and auto parts. Given that the Trump administration wants manufacturing to return to the U.S., duty credits or duty offsets are a means to try to encourage that, Holloway said. CBP recently published guidance on the auto parts offset in an Oct. 31 cargo systems message, although the auto industry is still waiting on some additional information from the Department of Commerce on the offsets, according to Holloway.