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.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for July 8-12 in case they were missed.
CBP is correcting its regulations to add a sentence about the timing of the customs broker exam, it said in a notice. CBP is adding the following sentence to 19 CFR Section 111.13(b): "Written examinations will be given on the first Monday in April and October unless the regularly scheduled examination date conflicts with a national holiday, religious observance, or other foreseeable event and the agency publishes in the FEDERAL REGISTER an appropriate notice of a change in the examination date."
The National Customs Broker and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) came to the defense of the customs broker industry following the recent sentencing of a president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association for evading customs duties for importers (see 13070525). "While it is unfortunate that Mr. Chavez was the president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association, that fact is certainly not an indictment on the other good, hardworking firms who are members of that association or the industry as a whole," said NCBFAA President Darrell Sekin in a statement. "It is a profession that works closely with Customs and Border Protection and other U.S. agencies on an ongoing basis to help insure that goods entering the commerce of the United States meet the letter of U.S. law. Customs brokers throughout the U.S. help to guide importers through the many intricacies involved in importing including issues involving intellectual property rights, antidumping, marking, Food and Drug Administration requirements, and the regulations of many other government agencies. We support the removal of bad actors from the international trade community, whether they be customs brokers, customs officials, or any others who would seek to illegally introduce articles into the commerce of the United States.”
CBP adopted an amendment to its regulations that would add recordkeeping requirements for U.S. exports of rough diamonds and include additional information on requirements for rough diamond import and export. CBP will now require any U.S. persons exporting from the U.S. a shipment of rough diamonds to retain a copy of the Kimberley Process Certificate accompanying each shipment for at least five years from the date of export and make the copy available for examination at the request of CBP, the agency said in a notice. CBP added to its regulations the requirements of diamond importing/exporting contained in the Treasury Department's Rough Diamonds Control Regulations (RDCR) (31 CFR part 592).
The Southern California U.S. District Court sentenced on July 1 former customs broker Gerardo Chavez to 37 months imprisonment, according to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. The 42-year-old former head of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association pleaded guilty in November 2012 to charges of conspiracy to evade at least $18 million in duties.
The CBP customs broker exam will have four hours for completion, a half hour less than previous notice of the exam said (see 13062019). "The posting for time for completion incorrectly reflected 4.5 hours," said a CBP spokesman. "The correct time for completion is 4 hours."
CBP revised its notice of customs broker examination, giving more specificity as to the parts of the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) the agency may test on. A previous version of the notice included the CATAIR as among the materials to be tested on, raising some concern as to the amount of material being covered on the exam (see 13062019).
CBP headquarters will take a close look at each Importer Security Filing (ISF) liquidated damage claim submitted by the ports to decide whether to move forward on the enforcement action, said Craig Clark, who oversees the ISF program at CBP as vessel program manager. Beginning July 9 and for at least the next year, there will be a “pre-initiation review” at headquarters of all liquidated damages to make sure they “actually rise to the level of violation,” he said. Clark spoke during a National Industrial Transportation League Webinar on ISF filing June 25.
Test takers sitting for the October customs broker license exam will have an additional half hour to complete the exam, said CBP in a notice announcing the date of the exam. The October exam, scheduled for Oct. 7, will allow four and a half hours for completion, the notice said. At least since the April 1998 exam -- the earliest exam CBP makes available that includes a cover sheet with instructions -- the agency has allowed testers four hours.