Customs broker A.N. Deringer signed an agreement with Kewill to transition to Kewill Customs' technology platform, Kewill said July 30. Kewill called Kewill Customs “a next generation customs brokerage solution” that will offer “enhanced visibility, functionality, and robust ad hoc reporting capabilities to service both Deringer and its clients.” Sandy Mayotte, senior vice president of Deringer, said Kewill Customs’ platform design was easy to use, resulting in less time training logistics professionals to use the system “so that they can dedicate more time to renewing files and ensuring compliance for customers.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s proposed new requirements for certificates of compliance would impose a heavy burden on importers and customs brokers, said several companies and trade associations in response to the proposed rule (here). CBP hasn’t implemented CPSC compliance data in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), so electronic filing would likely take the form of complicated and time-consuming PDF submissions, said industry groups. And the proposal’s definition of importers brings customs brokers under the new requirements, even though they’re not in a position to certify compliance with product safety regulations, the National Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) said.
The Food and Drug Administration’s July 29 proposed rule to establish a Foreign Supplier Verification Program would require importers to implement procedures to analyze the hazards associated with the food they import and verify their suppliers’ compliance with applicable regulations. The exact form that verification will take is still up in the air, with FDA proposing two alternative requirements. FDA said it expects foreign suppliers will seek out verification on their own from third parties, which would ease the burden on importers. The agency is also proposing exemptions and modified requirements for small businesses and some foods subject to other food safety regulations.
Colorado U.S. District Court Judge William Martinez ordered Executive Recycling to pay $4.5 million, and its owner and chief executive officer Brandon Richter to serve 30 months in federal prison, for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently export electronic waste despite telling their clients it would be recycled domestically. The judge also ordered Richter to pay a $7,500 fine and $70,144 in restitution, as well as $142,241.10 in asset forfeiture.
CBP is extending the comment period to Aug. 26 for an existing information collection for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours.
The Federal Maritime Commission extended the comment period by 30 days for a proposed rulemaking to add new licensing and financial requirements to Ocean Transportation Intermediaries (OTIs), the agency said in a notice. The proposed rules would create some additional licensing requirements for OTIs, somewhat similar to what is required of customs brokers, and increase the bonding requirements. (see 13053031). The extension came in response to a request from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), said the FMC. While the NCBFAA requested a 60-day extension, the FMC decided to give a 30-day extension, it said. Comments on the proposal are now due Aug. 30.
The review of financial details including CBP entry and entry summary forms in order to verify billing is considered to be "customs business" and therefore would require a licensed customs broker, said CBP in a June 28 ruling. CBP addressed the issue in HQ H167815 at the request of DHL Americas, which inquired in 2011 about billing verification activities used to resolve Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) billing disputes.
CBP released the agenda for the Aug. 7 meeting with the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (COAC) in Washington, D.C. CBP also said the meeting will be available online and registration is available (here).
Convicted arms trafficker and Georgian national Ioseb Kharabadze, 60, was deported on July 12 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations, according to ICE. Kharabadze was convicted in July 2007 for conspiring to smuggle surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank missile systems, 120mm mortar launchers and other high powered weapons from Europe into the U.S., ICE said. He was sentenced in March 2009 to 60 months for conspiring to traffic firearms and 48 months for brokering activities.
National leadership is failing to spur deployment of faster broadband networks, stakeholders said Tuesday during a Washington event hosted by Google and the Internet Society’s Washington chapter. The discussion focused on how to encourage communities to develop gigabit networks as well as the challenges and shortcomings associated with that. Speakers emphasized the importance of municipalities, and discussed policy flaws on the federal level.