Life Sciences Trade Alert is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 30 - May 4 in case they were missed.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- The completion of "core" ACE was a proud moment for Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner-trade, but she's aware of the remaining needs for the system, she said during a May 2 speech at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. "I know we're not done," she said. "Let me say that again. I know we're not done."
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- The completion of "core" ACE was a proud moment for Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner-trade, but she's aware of the remaining needs for the system, she said during a May 2 speech at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. "I know we're not done," she said. "Let me say that again. I know we're not done."
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Customs brokers are mostly happy in dealing with the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, panelists said during a May 2 discussion at that National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. Maureen Oliphant, regional compliance manager at Yusen Logistics, said she is seeing far fewer Requests for Information (CBP Form 28). There have even been occasions that someone from a Center called Oliphant to ask for other information rather than sending out a CF 28, she said. CBP "is a lot easier to deal with" since the Centers were added, Oliphant said.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Customs brokers are mostly happy in dealing with the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, panelists said during a May 2 discussion at that National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. Maureen Oliphant, regional compliance manager at Yusen Logistics, said she is seeing far fewer Requests for Information (CBP Form 28). There have even been occasions that someone from a Center called Oliphant to ask for other information rather than sending out a CF 28, she said. CBP "is a lot easier to deal with" since the Centers were added, Oliphant said.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- CBP is considering offering trusted trader benefits to those in the e-commerce world as a way to improve compliance, said John Leonard, executive director-trade policy and programs at CBP, during a May 2 panel discussion at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. The hope is to "incentivize all these new actors in this space to improve the platforms and marketplaces, etc., to be more compliant," he said. "Part of that could involve the Trusted Trader program" and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, he said. CBP "is looking at this very closely."
The U.S. will return some 3,800 artifacts to Iraq that were illegally imported by Hobby Lobby, the Justice Department said in a news release. The company reached a $3 million settlement with the DOJ last year over the smuggled goods that also required Hobby Lobby to employ a customs lawyer and a customs broker (see 1707060033).
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- The elimination of drawback availability on entries subject to Section 232 tariffs in most the recent presidential proclamations (see 1804300064) applies retroactively to the March 23 effective date of the tariffs, said John Leonard, executive director-trade policy and programs at CBP, during a May 2 interview at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. The new language about drawback raised some questions about how it was applied (see 1805010027). The drawback issue had "been an open question" and something "we needed direction on," he said. Between the first proclamation and the most recent proclamation, "CBP pointedly made sure we tried to get as many technical questions as possible answered," Leonard said. "We expect our quota module to be ready pretty soon to be able to handle absolute quotas, which we haven't for many years."
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Both the government and customs brokers will need to keep agile in light of the fast-moving changes in the world of international trade, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner-trade at CBP. "The relationship between the government and private sector is very much facilitated by the role of the customs broker," Smith said during a May 2 interview at that National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's annual conference. "I believe those that do international trade are helped by the knowledge and expertise of customs brokers. I think very often there is a financial function that customs brokers can also perform for the private sector. For CBP, I think, they help educate around requirements and we believe that's a very valuable function."
Amy Magnus has been named president of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said A.N. Deringer, where Magnus is director-customs affairs and compliance, in an emailed news release. Magnus, most recently vice president of the NCBFAA, succeeds Geoff Powell in the role.