The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, Inc. (NCBFAA), the National Industrial Transportation (NIT) League, and the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) have submitted to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) joint additional comments in response to the FMC's reopening of the comment period on five petitions requesting that some or all non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) be granted, variously, the ability to enter into confidentially negotiated service contracts with their customers, an exemption from establishing and publishing rate tariffs for ocean transportation, etc.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice regarding the appeals period for questions on the October 2003 Customs broker exam.
The Winter 2003 issue of the NCBFAA Quarterly Bulletin contains an article that states that miscellaneous tariff and trade bills are no longer routine, are not predictable, and may not even be possible. The article notes that such bills have increasingly become the vehicle for solving larger, tougher trade and economic issues that have nothing to do with the tedious technical language of miscellaneous tariff and trade bills. (NBFAA Quarterly Bulletin, No. 103-4, Winter 2003, www.ncbfaa.org.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a final rule which amends the Customs Regulations effective January 5, 2004 regarding the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice advising the trade of the upcoming system requirements for filing a U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SFTA) claim through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published a final rule which amends the Customs Regulations effective January 5, 2004 regarding the advance electronic presentation of information pertaining to cargo (sea, air, rail, or truck) prior to its being brought into, or sent from, the U.S. (See final rule for compliance dates for each transportation mode.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site the October 2003 Customs broker exam and answer key.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that the 2004 tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for Cheddar cheese from Canada, provided for in HTS Chapter 4, Additional U.S. Note (AUSN) 18, that opened on January 2, 2004, oversubscribed at opening moment. According to CBP, the pro rata percentage is 74% or .7400. CBP states that entries or withdrawals for consumption of Cheddar cheese from Canada presented after opening should be returned to the broker for correction.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted to its Web site a revision of its December 2003 Questions & Answers (Q&A) document regarding the registration of food facilities.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that the Special Bill programming (new non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) and Master vessel operating common carrier (VOCC) bill types) for Sea Automated Manifest System (AMS) participants will be moved into production (i.e., implemented) during the normally scheduled system outage on Saturday, January 10, 2004, 11:00 p.m. EST - 3:00 a.m. EST.