The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet May 22 at 1 p.m. in Miami, CBP said in a notice. Registration is available (here).
The CBP Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot will be expanded to include the truck mode of transportation, the agency said in a notice. The agency will seek new participants in the pilot program, which originally only applied to air transportation and now includes ocean and rail, it said.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America raised and donated more money for political donations through its Political Action Committee than ever before, said the group's in its 2013 report. While expectations remain low for legislative progress on issues of interest to the association, "there are signs that -- gradually -- change is on its way," it said. The group added 92 new members in 2013, up to a total of 896 members, said the NCBFAA.
CBP will begin to allow importers to certify Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot data elements through the transmission of the ACE Entry Summary, the agency said in a notice. The agency also added three new data elements that will be required in order to certify from ACE Entry Summary.
A recently started campaign is working to push back against momentum for changes at CBP that could lessen the need for individually licensed customs brokers. The campaign, called "See a Broker, Save a Broker," was started in response to coming capabilities within CBP's Automated Commercial Environment that would allow for expanded Remote Location Filing (RLF), potentially meaning a single broker's license is all that would be necessary for importers across the country. "The national permit coupled with full blown RLF not only threatens our profession through lost jobs and core missions to protect the revenue and borders by reducing the ranks currently enlisted in this shared responsibility, it also devalues the individual license holder through declining demand," the campaign said.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's board of directors recently approved 16 new members, the NCBFAA said in a notice on its website. New members include:
Coming regulatory changes at CBP will soon make the notion of district permits "a wholly irrelevant artifact," the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) said on its website. The NCBFAA recently made a point to make clear to its members that revisions to the broker permitting structure were in the works and industry engagement would be important (see 14042116) "While there appears to be strong sentiment to keep the current [district permitting system], that really is not an option," the group said.
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Despite a previous port classification decision and 81 subsequent liquidated entries claiming preferential treatment under that classification, the entries of a single importer through a single port is not enough to create an "established and uniform practice," CBP said in ruling HQ H15556. The ruling, dated Feb. 3, addressed an internal advice request on whether embroidered fabric produced in Honduras using originating embroidery yarns and batiste fabric from China origin qualify for preferential tariff treatment as an originating good under the Dominican Republic -- Central America -- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). The agency also considered whether a uniform practice had been established.
Correction: OtterBox denies the allegations in a customs broker's whistleblower lawsuit it recently settled for $4.3 million, and did not admit to the violations under the settlement (see 14042222). "OtterBox denies the contentions of the qui tam complaint filed in 2011 by former employee Bonnie Jimenez and asserts that at no time has the company knowingly underpaid customs duties," said an OtterBox spokesman. "As the government acknowledges, this matter was based solely on allegations and the case was settled with no admission of liability."