The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
A New York resident brought a complaint to the Court of International Trade Nov. 21 saying that several questions on CBP’s customs broker exam were unfairly ambiguous, conflicting or lacking essential information, resulting in his failure to pass it (Shuangyang Li v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CIT # 24-00205).
Customs brokers must pay the annual permit user fee for FY 2025 by the end of January, CBP said in a notice. The $180.57 fee is due no later than Jan. 31. Failure to pay the fee results in the revocation of the customs broker license, CBP said. The agency assesses the fee for each permit held by a customs broker, whether an individual, partnership, association or corporation.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
NEW YORK -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission's intent to require information from certificates of compliance to be filed in ACE next year is alarming brokers, according to Erin Williamson, vice president of customs brokerage at GEODIS USA.
DETROIT -- Cindy Allen, owner of consultancy firm Trade Force Multiplier, said she believes some of the initiatives in the 21st Century Customs Framework bills are useful -- such as simplifying CBP's process for seizures -- but that overall, the focus is too heavy on enforcement.
House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., proposes increasing tariffs on nearly all Chinese goods to at least 35% and raising tariffs on "strategic goods" to 100%, with exceptions only for goods that are currently sourced only from China.
A commercial in-space servicing industry -- long discussed -- is coming, but when remains a big question mark, Chris Blackerby, Astroscale chief operating officer, said Wednesday. Speaking at the annual Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) conference in Arlington, Virginia, he said there's demand for such services in geostationary orbit but not to expect a market for in-space servicing in low earth orbit anytime soon. Blackerby said governments are the likely customers for in-space servicing in the near term, though eventually the bulk of the marketplace will be commercial operators contracting for services. Mark Quinn, head of insurance broker Willis Towers' space division, said some space insurers no longer provide coverage after a spate of huge claims during the past two years.
The Court of International Trade dismissed Byungmin Chae's second lawsuit challenging his results of the April 2018 customs broker license exam, finding that the suit is precluded by the Nebraska resident's first case challenging the test.