The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America named Ken Bargteil, who recently retired from Kuehne + Nagel (see 1510060056), as chancellor of the NCBFAA Educational Institute, the NCBFAA said (here).
The Bureau of Industry and Security is still striving to create a single export licensing agency with harmonized applications and terms in the coming years, but that effort won’t happen during the Obama administration, said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Kevin Wolf, at the 2015 BIS Update conference on Nov. 2. BIS officials have repeatedly touted the merits of that harmonization (see 1507220021), claiming existing differences between the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export Administration Regulations create an arbitrary burden on traders.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America called for further CBP caution ahead of the planned Feb. 28 transition date for use of the Automated Commercial Environment, the trade group said in an "open letter to importers and exporters." The agency is "challenged in having too few trade technical resources that are available to support the transition into the new system, restricting the ability of brokers to successfully implement the ACE system," the group said in the letter (here). The letter also includes a list of what the NCBFAA considers to be criteria for a successful implementation date.
The CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations has “grave concerns” about the ongoing pilot of Food and Drug Administration filing in the Automated Commercial environment, it said in a memo posted to the CBP website Nov. 2 (here). FDA is “not piloting reality,” instead testing an artificial process where importers must go through multiple steps to pre-validate shipment data, said the memo, which also detailed PGA filing issues related to the other agencies. With the Feb. 28 mandatory date for FDA filing fast approaching, FDA “needs to pilot real data in order to adequately identify issues and test the success of their ACE deployment,” said the COAC.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 19-23 in case they were missed.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is moving forward with changes to its Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) fees, and will soon publish a final rule in the Federal Register to implement fee increases for certain transportation modes and a new fee for treatment services, it said (here). The final rule will also remove caps on fees for vessels and railcars, and increase the caps on fees for trucks with transponders. According to APHIS' publication schedule, the new fees will take effect on Dec. 28, though the agency will allow for a staged implementation of the treatment fee over the next five years, it said in the final rule (here).
The Federal Maritime Commission on Oct. 21 voted to move forward with a final rule amending new ocean transportation intermediary (OTI) licensing and financial responsibility requirements, it said in a press release (here). Under the new regulations, OTIs will be required to renew their licenses every three years through an on-line portal beginning in late 2016. The final rule also provides for an expedited hearing process for license denials, revocations, or suspensions. The rule is based on a proposal issued by the FMC in 2014 (see 14100916) that drew criticism from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (see 1412120016). Also in its Oct. 21 meeting, the FMC voted to seek comments on possible modifications to its rules on service contracts and non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) service arrangements, it said.
The World Customs Organization Permanent Technical Committee is looking at 3D printing and a number of other issues related to the "Future of Customs," said the WCO (here). During a recent meeting, the PTC laid out a number of "legal aspects" of 3D printing as the "goods are not physically crossing borders, but are printed on national level (while being designed potentially oversea)," it said. Among the issues are "changes of supply chains; issues related to risk management, control and security; [intellectual property rights] matters," it said.
With major changes ahead for CBP’s national permitting scheme, licensed customs brokers are increasingly concerned with the prospects for the profession, said several brokers in interviews. The expansion of remote location filing on national permits to all entry types and government agencies, set to occur by the end of 2016 alongside full implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, could allow brokerages to employ a single licensed individual to qualify all of their customs business. Brokers have been active in voicing concerns that such an outcome could undermine compliance and make customs brokering a less attractive profession, but have yet to find a solution acceptable to CBP.
Cindy Allen, formerly of DHL Global Forwarding and prior to that head of CBP’s ACE Business Office, opened a new consulting firm focused on assisting importers, exporters, customs brokers and software developers, she said in an email. The new company, named Trade Force Multiplier, will advise importers and exporters seeking to comply with the demands of partner government agencies and customs brokers seeking to automate and implement the Automated Commercial Environment. The firm will also offer a training and reference resource for desk-level employees at brokerages, importers, exporters and forwarders.