International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 11-15 in case they were missed.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America told FCC officials Tuesday of concerns about elimination of Form 740 filing requirements for importing RF devices, as expected (see 1709110022), NCBFAA said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 15-170. Brokers worry that "if no other party makes 'a determination,' the broker may be liable as one of the parties responsible for the determination, even though the broker does not have sufficient knowledge of the product to make that determination," the group said. Officials from the Office of Engineering and Technology participated in the meeting, attended by lawyers and a representative of UPS Supply Chains Solutions.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America told FCC officials Tuesday of concerns about elimination of Form 740 filing requirements for importing RF devices, as expected (see 1709110022), NCBFAA said in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 15-170. Brokers worry that "if no other party makes 'a determination,' the broker may be liable as one of the parties responsible for the determination, even though the broker does not have sufficient knowledge of the product to make that determination," the group said. Officials from the Office of Engineering and Technology participated in the meeting, attended by lawyers and a representative of UPS Supply Chains Solutions.
A Chinese aluminum company and its owner evaded more than $1.5 billion in antidumping and countervailing duties by importing aluminum extrusions masked as pallets, according to allegations in a complaint filed by the government on Sept. 14 in Central California U.S. District Court. The complaint seeks the forfeiture of 549 containers of extruded aluminum pallets imported by Perfectus Aluminum and detained by CBP at the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach in 2016.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America met with Federal Communications Commission officials on Sept. 12 to discuss the role of customs brokers for imported radio frequency devices, the NCBFAA said in an ex parte filing with the agency. The trade group has a number of concerns related to the agency's elimination of the FCC's Form 740 filing requirements for importing RF devices (see 1709110023) and what the NCBFAA sees as new compliance verification burdens for customs brokers (see 1706280065). With the elimination of Form 740, brokers now worry that "if no other party makes 'a determination,' the broker may be liable as one of the parties responsible for the determination, even though the broker does not have sufficient knowledge of the product to make that determination.
NorthPoint Logistics hired Amy Rice as its chief operating officer, it said in a press release. Rice, a licensed customs broker, was previously vice president of operations at Marisol International, it said.
The first electronic customs broker license exams will take place on Oct. 25, CBP said in a news release. Registration is open until Sept. 22 for that exam, it said. CBP adopted a final rule earlier this year to update the agency's testing procedures (see 1706290042).
CBP is aiming to release rules for entry filings of goods valued under the $800 de minimis threshold "before the end of the calendar year," said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner for the CBP Office of Trade, on Sept. 12 during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference in Washington. CBP knows "it's a big deal" to customs brokers "whether we require the classification on all small packages," she said. It's a "thorny issue," but "I think we are close to having kind of the final conversations," so "look forward to that in the next couple months."
Representatives from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America are scheduled to meet with the FCC this week about their concerns about the agency's elimination of Form 740 filing requirements for imported RF devices (see 1707130032). NCBFAA is pleased the requirements went away, but worries about what's seen as new liabilities for customs brokers included in the order, said Alan Klestadt, a lawyer with Grunfeld Desiderio, who represents the NCBFAA. “The new regulations talk about customs brokers being responsible to validate FCC compliance,” Klestadt said during an NCBFAA conference Monday. “There isn't a person in this room who's qualified to do that, and I say that without any disrespect. There's just no way.” Naming customs brokers as “one of the parties with responsibility to validate” is a “huge additional burden,” he said.
Representatives from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America are scheduled to meet with the FCC this week about their concerns about the agency's elimination of Form 740 filing requirements for imported RF devices (see 1707130032). NCBFAA is pleased the requirements went away, but worries about what's seen as new liabilities for customs brokers included in the order, said Alan Klestadt, a lawyer with Grunfeld Desiderio, who represents the NCBFAA. “The new regulations talk about customs brokers being responsible to validate FCC compliance,” Klestadt said during an NCBFAA conference Monday. “There isn't a person in this room who's qualified to do that, and I say that without any disrespect. There's just no way.” Naming customs brokers as “one of the parties with responsibility to validate” is a “huge additional burden,” he said.