There's a wide range of approaches among customs regimes for overseeing customs brokers around the world, said a World Customs Organization report on the subject released May 31 (here). "There are several practices in terms of regulatory/licensing requirements, roles and responsibilities, fees and charges, cooperation mechanism between Customs and brokers," the report's summary said. The report also includes some "suggested policy and organizational considerations on Customs Brokers regime and a model checklist for licensing/regulating brokers," the WCO said in a news release (here).
A recent deployment of changes to ACE filing requirements for the Food and Drug Administration on May 31 went smoothly, despite some concerns leading up to the deployment among the trade community, said customs brokers and software developers. Following the relatively uneventful passage of CBP’s May 28 deadline for certain cargo release entry types, import filers and developers on May 31 again reported only minor issues, with an outage that evening unrelated to the deployment and its timing coincidental, said FDA.
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
In anticipation of the upcoming July 1 deadline for implementation of amendments to the Safety of the Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, the FMC should facilitate stakeholder conversations to reach agreement on matters including verified gross mass (VGM) calculation costs, VGM protocols, and international, federal or state VGM requirements, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a letter to FMC (here). The letter was written in response to an agreement filed with the commission on May 18, which NCBFAA says pertains to creating a pre-load process for VGM data submissions to carriers. NCBFAA supports the agreement, saying it “appears to set a goal of alleviating at least some of the concerns associated with the unilateral imposition of the VGM guidelines by the carriers” currently happening at the Gulf and South Atlantic ports. Per the agreement, marine terminal operators, not shippers, as previously suggested, would be responsible for providing the tare weight of a container to be used in the VGM, NCBFAA said.
The U.S. and Ukraine signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement meant to help prevent and detect customs violations, said CBP in a May 23 news release (here). “This agreement will enable us to jointly collaborate on investigations, share best practices, expand on our bilateral relationship, and exchange information that is vital to our national and economic security,” said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske. The agreement "is the result of negotiations that began in June 2014," he said in remarks prepared for the signing ceremony (here). The U.S. now has CMAAs with 76 countries around the world, he said. "This Agreement forms an excellent foundation for other areas of cooperation, such as a Mutual Recognition Arrangement between Authorized Economic Operator programs. Such programs establish pre-vetted importers, exporters, freight-forwarders, shippers, and brokers to ensure optimal security while facilitating legitimate trade," said Kerlikowske.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 16-20 in case they were missed.
As the expansion of automated systems promotes greater supply chain efficiencies, governments should consider facilitating activities like early goods release, economic mutual recognition agreements, and greater federal spending on U.S. transportation infrastructure, panelists said at Global Supply Chain Summit on May 18. While infrastructure “choke points” prevent supply chains from fully benefiting from recent advances in technology and e-commerce, funding provided through the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) should help CBP improve its Free and Secure Trade program (FAST program), National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Vice President Amy Magnus said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its Spring 2016 regulatory agenda for CBP (here). The agenda includes a rulemaking on the modernization of customs broker exam regulations (here). A CBP official recently said a proposal on changes to the exams was in the works (see 1604220023). The exam rulemaking seems to replace a rulemaking listed on the previous agenda on modernizing broker regulations (see 1511200014). Both items have the same Regulatory Identification Number.
Form 7501s stamped by CBP for vehicle imports don't signify compliance with other government agency statutes and regulations, said CBP in a CSMS message (here). There's some confusion about this issue and the CBP stamp and signature only means that the importer completed the CBP import processing and provided proof of ownership by presenting the original certificate of title, or a certified copy of the originals," said CBP. "Customs brokers may print an ACE electronic equivalent of the CF 7501 for CBP to sign and stamp," for clients, though Departments of Motor Vehicles may notice a difference between the 7501 and the equivalent, CBP said. "For the purpose of individuals registering their vehicles in the United States, CBP will only stamp a paper CF 7501 or its ACE electronic equivalent upon request. CBP will not stamp any other form/document as substitution for the CF 7501 and CBP will not stamp or sign any other U.S. Government agencies’ forms (e.g., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration HS-7 Declaration Form or the Environmental Protection Agency 3520-1 Form). As CBP goes forward with ACE, "CBP will be exploring opportunities to streamline this process with the DMVs; however, this policy will remain the same until further notice," the agency said.
The shift to ACE and automation marks a large cultural shift within the government and represents a move toward a 21st century supply chain, said Maria Luisa Boyce, CBP’s senior advisor for trade engagement, during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference on supply chains. The agency needs to keep nimble even as it deals with challenges of infrastructure and existing processes, she said. The agency's focus is continues to evolve, most recently with the customs reauthorization law, she said.