Mark Hirzel recently joined American Honda Motor Company as assistant manager for trade services, he confirmed in an email. Hirzel, a licensed customs broker, previously worked for A.N. Deringer and DHL Global Forwarding.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 4-10:
A freight forwarder with the proper authorization may sign a continuous customs bond, which CBP considers to be "customs business," for an importer, that agency said in a Sept. 26 ruling. The ruling request came from the Miami Field Office following a broker compliance audit that found a foreign importer to be using a continuous customs bond singed by its freight forwarder, CBP said in HQ H251059. Actions constituting "customs business" typically require a valid broker license and district permit.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is currently “grappling” with whether the trade community is ready for new ACE filing requirements for high-risk seafood under its Seafood Import Monitoring Program, said Dale Jones, an NMFS fishery program specialist, at CBP’s East Coast Trade Symposium on Dec. 6. The December 2016 final rule will still go into effect on Jan. 1, but NMFS does not want to hold up trade, so there may be some way the agency can “work diligently” with affected importers to help them through the transition, he said. “We might hit some turbulence.” The new data requirements will initially apply to imports of Atlantic cod, Pacific cod, blue crab, red king crab, dolphinfish (mahi mahi), grouper, red snapper, sea cucumber, sharks, swordfish, and albacore, bigeye, bluefin, skipjack and yellowfin tuna, with requirements also eventually planned for shrimp and abalone. The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America recently called on NMFS to adopt a “soft compliance” policy, citing readiness concerns (see 1712040022).
The Census Bureau should delete the reference to electronic export information (EEI) in its definition of a “routed export transaction,” to make the definition consistent with the Bureau of Industry and Security’s, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in Dec. 5 comments to Census. Census defines a routed export transaction as a transaction wherein the foreign principal party in interest (FPPI) authorizes a U.S. forwarding or other agent to facilitate export of items from the U.S. on its behalf and to prepare and file the EEI. BIS’s Export Administration Regulations don’t include the reference to EEI.
UPS acquired Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services (STTAS) on Nov. 30, UPS said in a Dec. 4 news release. STTAS, the consulting and trade compliance arm of the Sandler Travis law and lobbying firm, "will continue to provide its same services, from the same offices with use of the same personnel," STTAS said in a news release. It will also "continue to serve as a resource" for Sandler Travis "on joint client issues as it has in the past." Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America filed a petition for reconsideration with the FCC over recent agency rule changes for RF device imports. The FCC's rule removed Form 740 filing requirements for RF device imports but retained compliance requirements and said customs brokers can be a "responsible party" for import compliance. "We urge the FCC to reconsider the rule to ensure that the responsible party is a person positioned to know important details about the product and its supply chain," the NCBFAA said. The NCBFAA previously noted its objections during the rulemaking process, but the FCC went forward with the regulations, including language seen by the association as onerous. "To the extent customs brokers are included in this rule, the responsibilities assigned to brokers should be reasonably proportionate to their function in the supply chain," the NCBFAA said.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America filed a petition for reconsideration with the FCC over recent agency rule changes for RF device imports. The FCC's rule removed Form 740 filing requirements for RF device imports but retained compliance requirements and said customs brokers can be a "responsible party" for import compliance. "We urge the FCC to reconsider the rule to ensure that the responsible party is a person positioned to know important details about the product and its supply chain," the NCBFAA said. The NCBFAA previously noted its objections during the rulemaking process, but the FCC went forward with the regulations, including language seen by the association as onerous. "To the extent customs brokers are included in this rule, the responsibilities assigned to brokers should be reasonably proportionate to their function in the supply chain," the NCBFAA said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should put in place a “soft compliance” policy for its Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) filing requirements when they take effect on Jan. 1, 2018, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a letter to the agency citing concerns over trade community readiness. Despite “extensive outreach” by NOAA, customs brokers and their importer clients are having trouble getting the required data from other actors in the supply chain, and there has been insufficient time for testing in ACE, the NCBFAA said in the Dec. 1 letter.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters: