A revised version of port performance legislation wisely creates a working group to help identify and analyze measurement criteria and shifts reporting requirements away from port authorities, said the American Association of Port Authorities in a recent letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and other high-ranking committee lawmakers. The legislation, S-1298, now directs the Obama administration to draw members of the working group from CBP and the Federal Maritime Commission, as well as other agencies and transportation groups.
The Food and Drug Administration should make clear when U.S. agents for foreign food facilities are liable for reinspection fees, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in comments to the Food and Drug Administration. Each U.S. agent should also be able to see a list of all facilities that name it as the agent, the group said. The NCBFAA and numerous others submitted comments to the FDA on its recent proposed rule on food facilities and U.S. agents (see 1504080017).
A.N. Deringer, Inc. will participate in the Broker-Known Importer Program (BKIP), the company announced in a July 2 press release (here). BKIP will improve entry efficiency and importer compliance knowledge by allowing customs brokers to "leverage their relationships with importers and discuss CBP compliance obligations," enhancing government efforts "to address import compliance issues by using brokers as a force multiplier," Deringer said. CBP and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America launched BKIP in May (see 1505140011).
CBP will target 200 “top filers” in its efforts to promote industry adoption of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline for entry summary and cargo release, according to a press release issued by the Trade Support Network (TSN) following a conference held June 23-25 in Washington.
The October customs broker’s license examination is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7,said CBP in a notice (here). While usually scheduled for the first Monday in October, the first Monday coincides with the observance of the religious holiday of Shemini Atzeret, said CBP. The exam typically consists of 80 multiple-choice questions, with a score of 75 percent required to pass.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for June 22-26 in case they were missed.
The House-preferred measure to address CBP’s strategy on duty evasion, the PROTECT Act, should serve as the “bedrock” of Customs Reauthorization this Congress, said trade associations including customs brokers, retailers, and importers in a recent letter to Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La. (here). Boustany introduced the legislation in past sessions of Congress (see 12121035).
CBP San Francisco will hold a seminar on "Steel Identification, Classification and Trade Law" on July 29-30, it said in an information notice. The seminar, which will include presentations from technical, commercial and legal experts from the industry, is meant to "increase the knowledge level" on steel imports for CBP officials, the trade and customs brokers, it said. The seminar will be at the Port of San Francisco, 555 Battery St., San Francisco.
CBP will begin use of a "revised Downtime Authorization form" at the Port of New York to avoid some of the problems related to the use of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for air manifests, said the CBP's New York office in a June 19 informational pipeline. The form "authorizes both transfers and releases in a single authorization, thereby eliminating a duplication in processing," said the agency. The ACE manifest system "continues to experience some performance issues in transmitting messages to the trade community," though it is "steadily improving," said CBP. The New York work-around differs from the revised procedures in Los Angeles (see 1506190022).
Customs reauthorization legislation now being considered in Congress includes provisions with "little regard to the practical effectiveness of these measures or their impact on trade flows," the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America told the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees in a June 18 letter (here). "As conference discussions begin on H.R. 644, NCBFAA urges you to revisit these critical issues and address the need for balance between facilitation and enforcement so that this is a bill we can all stand behind," said the association. It's still unclear when conference negotiations to resolve differences between the House and Senate customs bills will begin (see 1506220012).