As a proposed expansion of import data required under the Seafood Import Monitoring Program heads to conference as part of the House-passed America Competes Act, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America’s Matt Lahar testified to Congress April 7 that the provisions would be a difficult lift for both importers and the federal government.
EU and Ukrainian operators will cooperate to keep Ukrainian refugees connected, the European Commission announced Friday. The agreement, brokered by the EC and the European Parliament, was signed by 27 operators (and counting) in the EU and Ukraine, including members of associations such as the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association, the GSM Association and MVNO Europe, the EC said. The initiative aims to create a more stable framework to help displaced Ukrainians in Europe stay in touch with friends and family back home. Operators will voluntarily and bilaterally lower wholesale roaming charges as well as wholesale fees for terminating international calls through commercial agreements. In return, Ukrainian telcos said they will gradually reduce international termination rates for calls to Ukraine originating from EU numbers, and calls to Ukraine from Ukrainian numbers roaming in the EU, toward levels that will allow EU operators to offer reduced wholesale roaming charges and affordable international calls to people calling Ukraine. They also agreed to pass along the full benefits of the lower EU wholesale roaming charges to their customers roaming in Europe.
EU and Ukrainian operators will cooperate to keep Ukrainian refugees connected, the European Commission announced Friday. The agreement, brokered by the EC and the European Parliament, was signed by 27 operators (and counting) in the EU and Ukraine, including members of associations such as the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association, the GSM Association and MVNO Europe, the EC said. The initiative aims to create a more stable framework to help displaced Ukrainians in Europe stay in touch with friends and family back home. Operators will voluntarily and bilaterally lower wholesale roaming charges as well as wholesale fees for terminating international calls through commercial agreements. In return, Ukrainian telcos said they will gradually reduce international termination rates for calls to Ukraine originating from EU numbers, and calls to Ukraine from Ukrainian numbers roaming in the EU, toward levels that will allow EU operators to offer reduced wholesale roaming charges and affordable international calls to people calling Ukraine. They also agreed to pass along the full benefits of the lower EU wholesale roaming charges to their customers roaming in Europe.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ruled March 31 that Chinese exporter T.T. International is entitled to judgment on its claims of unjust enrichment against BMP International and its U.S. affiliate relating to the sale of refrigerants, disposable cylinders and other products exported from China. Judge Charlene Honeywell sent the case to trial to determine the total amount of damages but also ruled that T.T. is due nearly $1 million from the defendants as that amount is uncontested (T.T. International Co. v. BMP International, M.D. Florida #8:19-2044).
FORT LAUDERDALE -- The supply chain for the custom integrator channel is struggling with a barrage of setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine and several natural disasters, said Keith James, Crestron director-strategic supply chain and manufacturing operations, at the Home Technology Specialists Association spring conference last week. James said “some relief” is likely in 2023.
CBP aims to start development of “ACE 2.0” in 2025, building off the work going into CBP’s 21st Century Customs Framework (21CCF) and the legislative framework that emerges from that effort, said Gail Kan, CBP acting executive director for trade policy and programs, during a meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee March 31.
CBP is "exercising discretion in the issuance of liquidated damages and penalties for shipments, where Expeditors International is the Customs Broker, that do not move to a General Order warehouse within the regulatory timeframes," the agency said in a March 28 CSMS message. The discretion is a result of a major cyberattack on Expeditors, it said. "The purpose of this CSMS is to notify carriers, terminal operators and other custodians of unentered merchandise to exercise similar discretion in affected shipments and to prevent unnecessary cost of General Order," CBP said. "This guidance applies to both direct arrival into the U.S. and in-bond movement to subsequent ports. This discretion will expire upon Expeditor’s return to full automated operations. CBP will issue a notice advising of the end of the discretionary period."
The submission or completion of CBP and Department of Defense forms related to imports of household goods and personal effects constitutes "customs business" and requires any third-party filers to be licensed customs brokers, the agency said in September ruling that was recently released. The ruling came in response to an internal CBP information request from the Port of Baltimore on the requirements for the submission of CBP forms 3461, 7501, 3299, and DOD Form 1252.
Megan Conyers, who was executive vice president of the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association, left the group to start a management consulting firm called Keyshift Strategies, she said in a post on LinkedIn.
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated March 23 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):