Cisco will pay $293 million to acquire cloud security vendor CloudLock, Cisco said in a news release Tuesday. CloudLock sells cloud access security broker technology to enterprise customers, providing data and analytics about user activity and sensitive data. CloudLock employees will join Cisco’s networking and security business group, Cisco said. The deal is expected to close in Q1, subject to customary closing conditions, it said.
Cisco will pay $293 million to acquire cloud security vendor CloudLock, Cisco said in a news release Tuesday. CloudLock sells cloud access security broker technology to enterprise customers, providing data and analytics about user activity and sensitive data. CloudLock employees will join Cisco’s networking and security business group, Cisco said. The deal is expected to close in Q1, subject to customary closing conditions, it said.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America created a new form that shippers can use to satisfy coming container weight verification requirements that go into effect July 1 (see 1606200004). The form (here) may be used to submit Verified Gross Mass information under the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). The group also updated its Shipper's Letter of Instruction form (here), it said. The NCBFAA also recently created a repository of SOLAS information (here).
The impacts that the United Kingdom’s decision to exit the European Union will have on the global trading regime remain unclear, following the country's vote June 23 on a referendum about continuing participation in the EU. The vote throws a wrench into negotiations on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and leaves uncertain how the UK will fit into the European trading system, lobbyists and scholars said in interviews following the vote. The UK would begin the process of leaving by submitting an "Article 50" notification to the European Council, notifying it of the UK's intent to pull out. The notification would trigger a two-year clock to negotiate the terms of the separation, during which time EU law would remain in effect, with "no immediate change following the results of the Referendum," law firm Baker & McKenzie said in a blog post (here).
The use of a single bank account by multiple companies to fund CBP Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) accounts doesn't count as "customs business," CBP said in a June 3 ruling (here). CBP weighed in on the issue in the ruling, HQ H261011, at the request of one of the companies that is considering the use of a joint bank account. The ACH accounts are programmed to automatically sweep monies out of an account electronically to pay duties to CBP.
Legislation aimed at changing FTC procedures and processes, prohibiting companies from gagging negative online customer reviews, preventing the use of illegal software by ticket brokers and protecting the rights of amateur radio operators will be the focus of a two-day markup by the House Commerce Committee. It will convene Wednesday at 5 p.m. for opening statements and reconvene Thursday at 10 a.m., in 2123 Rayburn. The committee will consider four bills, which were advanced June 9 by the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee. They include the FTC Process and Transparency Reform Act (HR-5510), which would make numerous changes to FTC enforcement actions, reviews and other procedures. Democratic members have slammed some changes, which they describe as deregulatory (see 1605240042 and 1606080052). The subcommittee also approved two bipartisan bills that will be considered by the full committee: the Consumer Review Fairness Act (HR-5111), which would bar companies' from including clauses in their terms of service that would prevent consumers from publishing critical online reviews, and the Better On-line Ticket Sales Act (HR-5104), which would bar use of software that buys up large amounts of event tickets and resells them at higher prices. The full committee will also consider the bipartisan Amateur Radio Parity Act (HR-1301), which was approved by the House Communications Subcommittee in February (see 1602110050). The bill would require the FCC to adopt new rules to ensure that amateur radio operators could use their equipment in deed-restricted communities.
Legislation aimed at changing FTC procedures and processes, prohibiting companies from gagging negative online customer reviews, preventing the use of illegal software by ticket brokers and protecting the rights of amateur radio operators will be the focus of a two-day markup by the House Commerce Committee. It will convene Wednesday at 5 p.m. for opening statements and reconvene Thursday at 10 a.m., in 2123 Rayburn. The committee will consider four bills, which were advanced June 9 by the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee. They include the FTC Process and Transparency Reform Act (HR-5510), which would make numerous changes to FTC enforcement actions, reviews and other procedures. Democratic members have slammed some changes, which they describe as deregulatory (see 1605240042 and 1606080052). The subcommittee also approved two bipartisan bills that will be considered by the full committee: the Consumer Review Fairness Act (HR-5111), which would bar companies' from including clauses in their terms of service that would prevent consumers from publishing critical online reviews, and the Better On-line Ticket Sales Act (HR-5104), which would bar use of software that buys up large amounts of event tickets and resells them at higher prices. The full committee will also consider the bipartisan Amateur Radio Parity Act (HR-1301), which was approved by the House Communications Subcommittee in February (see 1602110050). The bill would require the FCC to adopt new rules to ensure that amateur radio operators could use their equipment in deed-restricted communities.
A wide range of trade associations called on the Obama administration to request a re-examination of the law that requires 100 percent scanning on U.S.-bound maritime cargo containers, in a June 20 letter (here) to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson. DHS recently notified Congress that it again needs a two-year delay in the deadline to implement the requirement (see 1605310028). The industry signatories, made up of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the National Retail Federation, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and 67 other organizations, also expressed support for extending the implementation deadline.
CBP and the Treasury Department decided against a raise to customs users fees based on the Consumer Price Index, CBP said in the June 15 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 50, No. 24) (here). A surface transportation funding bill signed into law last year (see 1512070011) provided for an increase to fees, including the merchandise processing fee (MPF) and broker permit fees, based on the Consumer Price Index. The law allowed for Treasury and CBP to decline to raise the fees if the yearly CPI increased by less than one percent from fiscal year 2014, which was the case. CBP and Treasury may next increase the fees at the beginning of the next fiscal year, or Oct. 1, it said. "CBP is currently developing a rulemaking document which will be published in the Federal Register that will implement" the fee adjustment requirements and "will include the methodology for determining the parameters" for whether a fee adjustment "is necessary as well as the timing of any fee adjustment announcements and effective dates," CBP said.
The move to ACE for the vast majority of Food and Drug Administration entries and entry summaries went without major complications, the FDA and customs brokers said. "We are very pleased that a lot of brokers have fully embraced the transition to ACE" and "FDA’s times for processing entries have actually decreased in ACE," Doug Stearn, director of the FDA’s Office of Enforcement and Import Operations, said in an email. Electronic filing of FDA entries and entry summaries under entry types 01, 03, 06, 11, 23, 51 and 52 was required in ACE as of June 15, though the agencies said they would allow for some leeway for filers using the old system (see 1606100012). Those seven entry types account for some 90 percent of entries that FDA sees (see 1605270002). CBP didn't comment.