Brokers will continue to be an integral part of the trade process even as the role of the CEEs increases, said Leon Hayward, director of the pharmaceuticals CEE, while speaking on a panel at the CBP Trade Symposium March 7. The companies that are involved in developing the CEEs have told Hayward “no matter how much this kind of stuff changes, we’re still going to use our brokers to file our entries” because “we don’t want to do that ourselves,” he said. That's been true at Nike, which is participating in a CEE, said Matt Varner, the company's director of trade operations. There is still a constant line of communication between Nike and its brokers , he said.
Importers and customs brokers facing the growing problem of counterfeiting should prioritize open lines of communication with CBP, said industry and government officials at the CBP Trade Symposium on March 7. Giving information to CBP about products and the problems a company is having allows the agency to know what to look for at the ports. And brokers can help in that process by facilitating that communication with the ports and taking advantage of their knowledge of their clients’ imports, said an industry official. The Centers of Excellence and Expertise will facilitate communication between importers and CBP and are hoped to improve intellectual property rights enforcement, they said.
CBP will face a number of new logistical challenges as it works to transition three Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) to handle several entry processes for entire industries, said industry and agency officials that spoke at the 2014 Trade Symposium. The first three CEEs to make the shift -- those handling electronics, petroleum and pharmaceutical industries (see 14030613) -- will be tasked with processing the entries of tens of thousands of companies when they previously handled under a hundred, said CBP officials during a panel on the CEEs.
CBP is extending the comment period to April 10 for an existing information collections related to customs brokers. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.
CBP said the following customs broker licenses have been reinstated and are currently active:
Send event information for inclusion in the International Trade Today Calendar toITTNews@warren-news.com.
Look for the FTC to expand its data deidentification and mobile tracking technology research, said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez during a Q&A at an International Association of Privacy Professionals conference Thursday. Ramirez didn’t reveal specific data deidentification research efforts but said the commission wants “to take advantage of” recently appointed Chief Technologist Latanya Sweeney, and that those interested should “stay tuned.” Ramirez also revealed the commission would be following up its in-store mobile tracking workshop with a report. “We do plan to issue a report, so that will be forthcoming,” she said. As for the FTC’s long-anticipated data-broker study -- in the works since late 2012 -- Ramirez said she hopes it “will be coming out soon."
Look for the FTC to expand its data deidentification and mobile tracking technology research, said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez during a Q&A at an International Association of Privacy Professionals conference Thursday. Ramirez didn’t reveal specific data deidentification research efforts but said the commission wants “to take advantage of” recently appointed Chief Technologist Latanya Sweeney (WID Nov 19 p7), and that those interested should “stay tuned.” Ramirez also revealed the commission would be following up its in-store mobile tracking workshop with a report (WID Feb 20 p6). “We do plan to issue a report, so that will be forthcoming,” she said. As for the FTC’s long-anticipated data-broker study -- in the works since late 2012 -- Ramirez said she hopes it “will be coming out soon."
The Senate unanimously confirmed Gil Kerlikowske as CBP commissioner by voice vote on March 6, in a move that ensures a Senate-confirmed commissioner will lead CBP for the first time in nearly five years. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, along with some industry leaders, praised the confirmation.
Importers should be wary of the use of company data obtained through cybertheft to import illegal goods, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in an alert (http://bitly.com/Nwg0b8). “Legitimate importer information, such as Importer Employee Identification Numbers (EIN) and company addresses have been stolen by cyber criminals who then approach U.S. Customs Brokers with the hijacked information,” said CBP. “This information is then used to submit a customs entry under the legitimate importer’s name to import contraband and counterfeit goods.” Such information could also be used to import weapons and ammunition or to create a forged power of attorney. A valid power of attorney is required for imports, it said. “The importer is usually not aware of the theft of its corporate information or the illegitimate importation until after the criminals abscond with the imported goods following the release of the goods from CBP."