The Food and Drug Administration is adopting the flexible approach urged by industry for filing in ACE of some data elements that may not be known at time of entry, in its final rule setting ACE filing requirements (here). Data elements for active pharmaceutical ingredients will remain optional, and the agency will continue to allow for a “UNK” intended use code where the intended use code is unknown at time of entry, the final rule said. However, FDA declined to allow more time for implementation of new ACE requirements, setting an effective date of Dec. 29 despite calls to allow several months for implementation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its fall 2016 regulatory agenda for CBP (here). The agenda doesn't include any new rulemakings involving trade. Previously listed rulemakings, including on the Centers of Excellence and Expertise and Importer Security Filings, continue to be on the agenda. CBP aims to issue an interim final rules on the CEEs in December (here), it said. The agency said an ISF final rule is also planned for release in December, with an effective date in January (here).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 14-20 in case they were missed.
The prospect of punitive tariffs and a renegotiated NAFTA could significantly impact customs brokers, but some could see benefits from U.S. leverage in any NAFTA withdrawal talks and potential port investments under the Trump administration, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Legislative Representative Jon Kent said during a Nov. 22 webinar. The required six-month window between submitting a withdrawal notice to NAFTA members and actual departure could give Trump an advantage in promoting U.S. interests, potentially spurring flexibility from Canada and Mexico during talks, Kent said. “It may not be enough, he may want to go further, and they’re willing to take it,” he said. “Having the ability just to shut down the agreement may provide him some edge. I think he’s well known as a negotiator, and I think this may be part of that inclination.”
Regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over imports and exports published their regulatory plans for the next several months as part of the Fall 2016 Unified Agenda (here). New rulemakings include the development of a national standard for disclosing bioengineered food, a final rule to require filing of new data elements for high-risk seafood imports and a proposal to allow imports of poultry slaughtered in China.
The Fish and Wildlife Service should reconsider its approach to ACE so as to not add several new burdens to industry filers, a group of trade associations said in a Nov. 16 letter to FWS Director Dan Ashe (here). The groups, including the National Retail Federation, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the FWS International Trade Data System pilot "has raised a number of concerns about the entry process and the long-term implications that could adversely affect both the agency and the industry." Among the concerns are an increase in the tariff subheadings flagged by FWS as requiring some type of filer action and the end to the Non-Designated Port Exemption Permit (DPEP) (see 1611140019). "We believe it is critical that these issues are addressed before any new mandatory ACE requirement is issued by FWS," the associations said.
MIAMI -- Efforts toward a North American Single Window should not change the role of customs brokers in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, respectively, said Geoff Powell, president of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. The association is not looking for a “European Union model” wherein brokers would be able to conduct customs business throughout the continent, Powell said, speaking at the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 15. Instead, it’s working with CBP, Canadian and Mexican customs, and broker groups in Mexico and Canada on facilitating the sharing of data, including export and import manifest, to “make it a little bit easier in getting the data” and to avoid duplicating information, he said.
CBP's proposed changes to customs broker license exams (see 1609130032) include several problems, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments to CBP (here). The proposed changes would allow for electronic testing, increase the fees and adjust the allowed testing dates. Each of those provisions raises some issues, the NCBFAA said.
MIAMI -- CBP and the Customs Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) are ramping up efforts to improve the customs ruling process so importers can get quicker responses from CBP headquarters, said Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner for trade, and Lenny Feldman of Sandler Travis, who co-chairs COAC’s trade modernization subcommittee. The COAC will announce a “public-private partnership” at its Nov. 17 meeting in Washington to build on its existing efforts to modernize the rulings process, Feldman said, speaking at the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 15.
MIAMI -- Any increased focus on business priorities under the upcoming Trump administration won’t be anything new and different for CBP, said Brenda Smith, CBP’s executive assistant commissioner for trade, at the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 15. The “significant change” in administrations coming this January will mean CBP will have a “new set of folks to work with” and a “new set of policy goals,” after having gotten used to the people and policy goals of the Obama administration, Smith said. Nonetheless, the new administration will likely recognize the importance of trade, given that trade was “one of the critical issues” of Trump’s campaign, she said. While Trump may bring a different perspective on the relationship between government and business, CBP is comfortable taking advice from the private sector on how government needs to interact with business to work toward a more competitive economy, Smith said.