CBP’s ability to consistently enforce Importer Security Filing (ISF) among different ports is one of several major worries for the agency’s new stricter enforcement policy on ISF, said surety company Roanoke Trade in an Aug. 27 document. According to Roanoke, CBP has said it will not impose uniformity across the ports for ISF hold and liquidated damages outside of the directions already given to the ports from CBP headquarters. The document, “ISF Enforcement Summary,” addresses ISF enforcement among ports and CBP policies on liquidated damages claims, and lays out industry concerns, CBP responses, and Roanoke’s own input as a surety.
A man from Sierra Leone was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, N.Y. for brokering the supply of “yellowcake” uranium to Iran in violation of U.S. export laws, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Patrick Campbell of Freetown, Sierra Leone, faces up to 20 years in prison after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement undercover agent negotiated the uranium shipments and then convinced Campbell to come to the U.S. to finalize negotiations.
Miami-based customs broker pleaded guilty Aug. 23 to Lacey Act violations, after it acted as broker on an entry of caviar but didn’t file the required declaration, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Data Freight Corporation admitted it didn’t file Fish and Wildlife Service Form 3-177 for 468 grams of Siberian sturgeon caviar that was imported in 2011 and 2012, even though it knew or should have that the declaration was required.
Livingston International will be one of the nine customs brokerages to test CBP's broker importer security assessment (ISA) pre-certification program, the company said in a press release. UPS and A.N. Deringer also recently said they would test the program (see 13081415 and 13081610). CBP declined to provide the names of the other participants, but said it would release them soon.
Chipboard letters with printed designs for use in scrapbooks are correctly classified as their constituent material paperboard, and not as printed designs on paperboard, said CBP as it affirmed an earlier tariff classification ruling. The shape of the letters is the most important aspect of the product, and not the printed designs, CBP said.
The Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) proposed changes to ocean transport intermediary (OTI) rules fall outside the agency's regulatory duties, the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) said in comments responding to the proposed rulemaking. Those changes are “not truly relevant to the Commission’s oversight responsibilities” and should not go forward, the association said. The agency released the proposal earlier this year, saying it would lessen regulatory burdens and improve processing (see 13053031).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 12 - Aug. 16 in case they were missed.
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America plans a 1 p.m. Aug. 29 webinar on the provisions of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which takes effect Oct. 1. The webinar will be presented by Mike Brown, executive vice president of Avalon Risk Management, and Kathy Schricker, regional vice president of Avalon Risk Management, it said. NCBFAA said the "complex" law will impact customs house brokers, OTIs, surface freight forwarders and motor carriers. The webinar will include changes to the bonding requirements for freight brokers and the impact on freight forwarders and motor carriers.
The Food and Drug Administration will soon begin its secure supply chain pilot program for pharmaceuticals, it said in a Federal Register notice set for publication Aug. 20. The pilot, originally announced in 2009 (see 09011620), will allow expedited entry for finished drug products and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from participating importers. FDA said it will accept applications beginning Sept. 16 until Dec. 31, and will begin the pilot in February 2014. The agency intends to run the pilot for two years, until February 2016, it said.
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.