The conference report of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, HR-644, passed the Senate on Feb. 11 by a landslide vote of 75-20, marking a major step toward reauthorizing CBP and changing a number of customs processes. The House passed the conference report in December (see 1512110029), and Senate approval means the bill will next go to President Barack Obama, who hasn't raised any objections. Industry and lawmaker reactions to the approval of the bill, which would go into effect 180 days after the President signs it into law, was largely positive.
The Senate voted 75-20 on Feb. 11 to approve the conference report of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (HR-644), a major step toward reauthorizing CBP and changing a number of customs processes. The House passed the conference report in December, and Senate approval means the bill will next go to President Barack Obama, who hasn't raised any objections. Several provisions in the bill would take effect 180 days after Obama signs it into law.
CBP will begin accepting applications on Feb. 10 from customs brokers and self-filing importers that want to participate in a pilot to test electronic filing of Toxic Substances Control Act certifications required by the Environmental Protection Agency, it said (here). Participants in the pilot, which will be in operation for all commodities at all ports, will file TSCA certifications via EPA’s partner government agency (PGA) message set in the Automated Commercial Environment, said CBP.
The Department of Homeland Security issued on Feb. 5 final regulations setting supplemental standards of ethical conduct for its employees. The agency’s final rule (here) includes provisions requiring employees to report allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. For CBP employees, it prohibits any employment or activities in support of or on behalf of a customs broker, carrier, bonded warehouse, foreign-trade zone board, cartman, customs law firm, or business related to importation, exportation or agriculture matters related to CBP’s mission. It also requires any CBP employee to report to CBP if their spouse or dependent is engaged in such activities.
CBP should adopt a “soft mandated” approach to its Feb. 28 Automated Commercial Environment deadline for cargo release entry types 01, 03 and 11, keeping the Automated Commercial System online as a fallback, and delay the deadline for both cargo release and entry summary for all other entry types until 90 days after programming has been finalized, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in a letter to agency officials dated Feb. 2 (here).
More changes are on the way for the Food and Drug Administration’s supplemental guide for filing in the Automated Commercial Environment, but the changes are meant to ease, not add to the burden on industry, said Sandra Abbott, director of FDA’s Division of Compliance Systems, during a webinar hosted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America on Feb. 3. The basic data elements that will become mandatory Feb. 28 are set, but FDA still needs to fix bugs that are causing hiccups for filers, she said.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing new filing requirements at time of entry for imports of certain species of seafood the agency has deemed high-risk (here). Conceived as part of an administration-wide strategy to combat illegal, unreported and unregistered (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud (see 1503160016), filers would have to submit through the Automated Commercial Environment certain data elements and electronic documents in order to improve traceability of imports of the high-risk species. The importer of record would also have to maintain records on the chain of custody of their seafood imports, and obtain an International Fisheries Trade Permit for the high-risk species. Comments on the proposal are due April 5.
CBP is considering a four-tiered fee structure to replace the current framework of the merchandise processing fee to implement MPF changes dictated by the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said Jon Kent, a lobbyist for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. An actual switch from an ad valorem to a flat-fee rate, as required in the TPP (see 1512150082), is still a ways off, but would likely have to be incorporated in any TPP implementing legislation, he said. The revised fee, however, would likely apply to all imports, not just those within the TPP’s scope, he said.
The customs broker’s license examination scheduled for April 2016 will be on Monday, April 4, said CBP in a notice (here). The exam will consist of 80 multiple-choice questions. Exam topics usually include: Entry; Classification; Trade Agreements; Valuation; Broker Compliance; Power of Attorney; Marking; Drawback; Bonds; Foreign Trade Zones; Warehouse Entries; Intellectual Property Rights; and other subjects pertinent to a broker's duties.
The following customs broker licenses and all associated permits are revoked for failure to employ a licensed broker, said CBP in a notice (here).