The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is moving forward with changes to its Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) fees, and will soon publish a final rule in the Federal Register to implement fee increases for certain transportation modes and a new fee for treatment services, it said (here). The final rule will also remove caps on fees for vessels and railcars, and increase the caps on fees for trucks with transponders. According to APHIS' publication schedule, the new fees will take effect on Dec. 28, though the agency will allow for a staged implementation of the treatment fee over the next five years, it said in the final rule (here).
The Federal Maritime Commission on Oct. 21 voted to move forward with a final rule amending new ocean transportation intermediary (OTI) licensing and financial responsibility requirements, it said in a press release (here). Under the new regulations, OTIs will be required to renew their licenses every three years through an on-line portal beginning in late 2016. The final rule also provides for an expedited hearing process for license denials, revocations, or suspensions. The rule is based on a proposal issued by the FMC in 2014 (see 14100916) that drew criticism from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (see 1412120016). Also in its Oct. 21 meeting, the FMC voted to seek comments on possible modifications to its rules on service contracts and non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) service arrangements, it said.
The World Customs Organization Permanent Technical Committee is looking at 3D printing and a number of other issues related to the "Future of Customs," said the WCO (here). During a recent meeting, the PTC laid out a number of "legal aspects" of 3D printing as the "goods are not physically crossing borders, but are printed on national level (while being designed potentially oversea)," it said. Among the issues are "changes of supply chains; issues related to risk management, control and security; [intellectual property rights] matters," it said.
With major changes ahead for CBP’s national permitting scheme, licensed customs brokers are increasingly concerned with the prospects for the profession, said several brokers in interviews. The expansion of remote location filing on national permits to all entry types and government agencies, set to occur by the end of 2016 alongside full implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, could allow brokerages to employ a single licensed individual to qualify all of their customs business. Brokers have been active in voicing concerns that such an outcome could undermine compliance and make customs brokering a less attractive profession, but have yet to find a solution acceptable to CBP.
Cindy Allen, formerly of DHL Global Forwarding and prior to that head of CBP’s ACE Business Office, opened a new consulting firm focused on assisting importers, exporters, customs brokers and software developers, she said in an email. The new company, named Trade Force Multiplier, will advise importers and exporters seeking to comply with the demands of partner government agencies and customs brokers seeking to automate and implement the Automated Commercial Environment. The firm will also offer a training and reference resource for desk-level employees at brokerages, importers, exporters and forwarders.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- CBP is planning a number of major changes to its approach to broker management, moving such work away from individual ports and to the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, said Richard Wortman, a lawyer with Grunfeld Desiderio who spoke at the Western Cargo Conference Oct. 17. Headquarters will continue to have overall control, but the legwork will be handled at the CEEs across the country, he said. Wortman discussed broker management changes and a number of other expected updates being contemplated as part of revisions to customs broker regulations.
The Federal Communications Commission will temporarily waive its Form 740 certification requirements for radio frequency (RF) devices imported after CBP's Automated Commercial Environment becomes mandatory for FCC entries on July 1, it said in an order issued Oct. 19 (here). The waiver, which will remain in effect until Dec. 31, 2016, allows time for the FCC to consider its proposal to eliminate importer declaration requirements entirely (see 1508110024), without imposing “significant burdens” on importers that would otherwise be forced to file on paper once ACE is required, the FCC said. Given the complexity of the FCC rulemaking, it’s possible the commission will be “unable to reach and publish a final determination” by July 1, when CBP will no longer accept electronic filing of FCC Form 740 via its legacy Automated Commercial System, it said.
Nearly two dozen customs broker and importer associations and retail organizations banded together in recent days to press U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to support the addition of travel goods to the Generalized System of Preferences. Industry petitions for those additions were due by Oct. 16 as part of USTR’s 2015 annual review for GSP (see 1508180027).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 5-9 in case they were missed.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is now considering alternative ways CBP can support the continued presence of a sufficient number of licensed brokers in customs business, with the agency so far unreceptive to the NCBFAA’s broker employment ratio proposal, said Alan Klestadt of Grunfeld Desiderio in an interview on Oct. 9. Among the options under consideration is a possible policy statement from CBP that the agency would consider the number of licensed brokers employed when making decisions on penalty mitigation, said Klestadt, who is the NCBFAA's customs counsel.