An increase in CBP bond increase letters in recent years doesn't seem likely to dissipate anytime soon, International Bond and Marine Brokerage said in a blog post. The increased tariffs during the Trump administration led to more bond notices from CBP (see 1807260011) and during April, "IB&M saw its highest level of monthly bond increases since former President [Donald] Trump was in office," it said. "What does that mean for customs brokers and their importing clients? More of the same we’re afraid," it said. "Higher Tariffs on Chinese merchandise and ensuing Bond Increase letters do not appear to be going away any time soon. We recommend customs brokers advise importers not to simply take the bare minimum bond amount requested on CBP's increase demand letter. We instead recommend importers go with a bond amount based on CBP’s guidance to Forecast the next 12 months of anticipated duties to avoid Bond-Stacking Liability. Customs Brokers should use entry data from CBP and work closely with clients to avoid insufficiency letters, demurrage, unnecessary collateral, cash tie-ups, and additional single entry bond fees."
The Court of International Trade will allow a customs broker test-taker to proceed with a challenge to his failing grade, denying a motion to dismiss from the government that argued his case didn’t meet procedural requirements. Byungmin Chae’s delay in appealing to the trade court was caused in part by CBP’s own misleading statements, and his early missteps in the case before hiring a lawyer should not bar him from a hearing in court, CIT said in a decision May 7.
CBP is updating its broker management handbook “and intends to publish the updated version on CBP.gov at the earliest opportunity,” an agency spokesperson said May 6. Asked about the deletion of the handbook from CBP's website, the spokesperson said it was removed “because it is out of date.” The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America recently cited the handbook in a letter to CBP raising concerns about the use of informed compliance letters by the Automotive and Aerospace Center of Excellence and Expertise (see 2105030022).
The Court of International Trade will allow a customs broker test-taker to proceed with a challenge to his failing grade, denying a motion to dismiss from the government that argued his case didn’t meet procedural requirements. Byungmin Chae’s delay in appealing to the trade court was caused in part by CBP’s own misleading statements, and his early missteps in the case before hiring a lawyer should not bar him from a hearing in court, CIT said in a decision May 7.
The Court of International Trade will allow a customs broker test-taker to proceed with a challenge to his failing grade, denying a motion to dismiss from the government that argued his case didn’t meet procedural requirements. Byungmin Chae’s delay in appealing to the trade court was caused in part by CBP’s own misleading statements, and his early missteps in the case before hiring a lawyer should not bar him from a hearing in court, CIT said in a decision May 7.
Shipping regulations should be revised to allow the Federal Maritime Commission to better address unfair detention and demurrage fees, agricultural export issues and a range of other shipping problems at U.S. ports, FMC Chair Daniel Maffei said. While he didn’t propose any concrete changes, he said he is “frustrated” with the situation at the nation’s ports and is speaking with Congress about potentially proposing regulatory changes. “I'm not prepared to go into any details now, but I do think that some things clearly need to be clarified,” Maffei said during a May 5 National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference. “There are many, many areas where the law is vague or so outdated because it simply was written mostly in the time of tariffs, and now it's mostly contracts.”
U.S. exporters and forwarders are still unsure how much due diligence is enough to comply with the Commerce’s Department’s recently expanded end-user and end-use restrictions, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America officials said. Although the Bureau of Industry and Security issued some guidance last year, the guidance didn't address all industry questions and was made more complicated by another set of restrictions that took effect this year, the officials said.
CBP saw a record 38 million Type 86 entries in April, said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, who was speaking virtually to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference on May 5. That's still not capturing the full scope of small packages that come into the U.S. under de minimis, which tops 600 million.
Shipping regulations should be revised to allow the Federal Maritime Commission to better address unfair detention and demurrage fees, agricultural export issues and a range of other shipping problems at U.S. ports, FMC Chair Daniel Maffei said. While he didn’t propose any concrete changes, he said he is “frustrated” with the situation at the nation’s ports and is speaking with Congress about potentially proposing regulatory changes. “I'm not prepared to go into any details now, but I do think that some things clearly need to be clarified,” Maffei said during a May 5 National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference. “There are many, many areas where the law is vague or so outdated because it simply was written mostly in the time of tariffs, and now it's mostly contracts.”
Four months after the United Kingdom left the European Union, customs activity is stabilizing following a hectic period of trade between Britain and the bloc, said Joop Mastenbroek, director of Customs Brokerage North and Continental Europe, West Europe and Middle East Africa at logistics company GEODIS, speaking at a May 4 event hosted by the U.S. Fashion Industry Association about the leading customs challenges post-Brexit. While more exporters and importers are up to date on how to issue the right documentation to ensure smooth customs clearance, large challenges still exist. In the current market scenario, the robustness of government systems under the increased weight of declarations, challenges around products of animal origin, shortage of resources and differing customs procedures by the various EU member states stand as the most challenging customs issues, Mastenbroek said.