Customs brokers and international trade lawyers expect increased activity in export controls and sanctions compliance in coming years due to administrative enforcement and a more globalized economy, an International Trade Today survey of eight trade law practices found. Most firms surveyed said customs litigation and regulatory work, as well as revenue, remained steady over the past year, even though many did add clients in the areas of export controls and sanctions compliance programs. Participants said the additions are attributed to the Administration’s recent emphasis on U.S. export controls and changes in the global economy.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is expanding his investigation into the ways data brokers collect and pass on personal information they gather from surveys, sweepstakes and questionnaires, he said in a Wednesday news release. He said he sent letters this week to 12 popular personal finance, health and family focused websites that “may collect detailed or sensitive information about a consumer’s health or financial status.” Privacy advocates said the letters should spur more regulatory action from Congress, the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Representatives of those agencies had no comment on the timeline for further regulatory action.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is expanding his investigation into the ways data brokers collect and pass on personal information they gather from surveys, sweepstakes and questionnaires, he said in a Wednesday news release. He said he sent letters this week to 12 popular personal finance, health and family focused websites that “may collect detailed or sensitive information about a consumer’s health or financial status.” Privacy advocates said the letters should spur more regulatory action from Congress, the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Representatives of those agencies had no comment on the timeline for further regulatory action.
Despite what seemed to be a statutory exemption in Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) for those involved in "customs business," there remains some uncertainty on how the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will look at customs brokers as the agency implements the law, said John Drake, FMCSA director of Government Affairs. "I think it's not entirely clear to us what the appropriate reading of this statute is," he said at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) government affairs conference Sept. 23. The NCBFAA has interpreted the bill's language to mean most work done by customs brokers is exempt from the new bonding requirements of MAP-21 (see 12070325).
CBP provided a broad update on its ongoing work toward revising CBP regulations in 19 CFR Part 111 that govern licensed customs broker during the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America's Government Affairs Conference Sept. 22. Heather Sykes, the new chief of CBP's Broker Management Branch, outlined areas the agency is considering making updates to.
Costly penalties from inaccurate Importer Security Filing (ISF) reports can be mitigated by consolidating services within companies, while reducing other import-related concerns such as customs delays, Livingston International officials said during a Sept. 19 webinar. Chuck Stroupe, product manager for Livingston's customs brokerage, and the company's practice leader Jill Hurley, said integrating services within importers could reduce human error and rising compliance costs by streamlining the overall process.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Sept. 16-20 in case they were missed.
Members of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) were meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill Sept. 24 to push them to move forward with several pieces of trade legislation. The meetings were part of the NCBFAA's Government Affairs Conference. At the top of the list of legislation brokers would like to see the next step be a customs reauthorization bill, according to a paper distributed by the NCBFAA to its members going to the Hill. Differences in the House over how the customs bill will treat antidumping/countervailing enforcement changes has emerged as a sticking point between Republicans and Democrats (see 13040911). NCBFAA "strongly supports passage of a robust customs reauthorization bill that provides firm direction to revitalize CBP's commercial trade facilitation and enforcement function," the paper said.
CBP is actively considering a recent proposal from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association (NCBFAA) that would allow brokers to differentiate importers that a broker has gathered some basic information on, said CBP Acting Commissioner Tom Winkowski on Sept. 23. Winkowski, who spoke at the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference, said "details of this proposal are being discussed," but "we believe the brokerage community is in a unique position to understand their clients' needs and business process and we want to leverage that expertise to enhance compliance." The NCBFAA submitted information on the proposal, called the "Broker Known Importer" program, earlier this year (see 13041124).
The Federal Maritime Commission is working with the State Department and the Maritime Administration in its review of China's Value-Added Tax (VAT) Program, said FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye during the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference Sept. 23. The FMC said recently it would take a closer look at the VAT program and its potential negative impacts on international commerce between the U.S. and China (see 13091919). Dye declined to go into much detail on the inquiry because official discussions thus far have been during closed meetings. The issue is considered a law enforcement issue and will not go through the typical complaint process, she said. The agency has said it is "considering a range of options to obtain further clarity on the application of this new tax regime."