The National Customs Broker and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) came to the defense of the customs broker industry following the recent sentencing of a president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association for evading customs duties for importers (see 13070525). "While it is unfortunate that Mr. Chavez was the president of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association, that fact is certainly not an indictment on the other good, hardworking firms who are members of that association or the industry as a whole," said NCBFAA President Darrell Sekin in a statement. "It is a profession that works closely with Customs and Border Protection and other U.S. agencies on an ongoing basis to help insure that goods entering the commerce of the United States meet the letter of U.S. law. Customs brokers throughout the U.S. help to guide importers through the many intricacies involved in importing including issues involving intellectual property rights, antidumping, marking, Food and Drug Administration requirements, and the regulations of many other government agencies. We support the removal of bad actors from the international trade community, whether they be customs brokers, customs officials, or any others who would seek to illegally introduce articles into the commerce of the United States.”
CBP adopted an amendment to its regulations that would add recordkeeping requirements for U.S. exports of rough diamonds and include additional information on requirements for rough diamond import and export. CBP will now require any U.S. persons exporting from the U.S. a shipment of rough diamonds to retain a copy of the Kimberley Process Certificate accompanying each shipment for at least five years from the date of export and make the copy available for examination at the request of CBP, the agency said in a notice. CBP added to its regulations the requirements of diamond importing/exporting contained in the Treasury Department's Rough Diamonds Control Regulations (RDCR) (31 CFR part 592).
The Southern California U.S. District Court sentenced on July 1 former customs broker Gerardo Chavez to 37 months imprisonment, according to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. The 42-year-old former head of the San Diego Customs Brokers Association pleaded guilty in November 2012 to charges of conspiracy to evade at least $18 million in duties.
The CBP customs broker exam will have four hours for completion, a half hour less than previous notice of the exam said (see 13062019). "The posting for time for completion incorrectly reflected 4.5 hours," said a CBP spokesman. "The correct time for completion is 4 hours."
CBP revised its notice of customs broker examination, giving more specificity as to the parts of the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) the agency may test on. A previous version of the notice included the CATAIR as among the materials to be tested on, raising some concern as to the amount of material being covered on the exam (see 13062019).
CBP headquarters will take a close look at each Importer Security Filing (ISF) liquidated damage claim submitted by the ports to decide whether to move forward on the enforcement action, said Craig Clark, who oversees the ISF program at CBP as vessel program manager. Beginning July 9 and for at least the next year, there will be a “pre-initiation review” at headquarters of all liquidated damages to make sure they “actually rise to the level of violation,” he said. Clark spoke during a National Industrial Transportation League Webinar on ISF filing June 25.
Test takers sitting for the October customs broker license exam will have an additional half hour to complete the exam, said CBP in a notice announcing the date of the exam. The October exam, scheduled for Oct. 7, will allow four and a half hours for completion, the notice said. At least since the April 1998 exam -- the earliest exam CBP makes available that includes a cover sheet with instructions -- the agency has allowed testers four hours.
The Federal Maritime Commission said the following have filed applications for a license as a Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVO) and/or Ocean Freight Forwarder (OFF)-Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) pursuant to section 19 of the Shipping Act of 1984. The FMC also gave notice of the filing of applications to amend an existing OTI license or the qualifying individual for a license. Interested persons may contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, D.C. 20573, at 202-523-5843 or at OTI@fmc.gov.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., plans to introduce a bill later this year to create an overarching strategic economic dialogue between the U.S. and Brazil, to increase visibility and oversight of the bilateral trade relationship, Nunes said June 12. He spoke at a Subcommittee hearing on trade and investment opportunities in Brazil, where witnesses and lawmakers said the U.S. should work to ease trade flows between the countries to tap into Brazil’s vital, ever-growing market. The country has raised its global profile in recent years, they said, securing the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics; the new World Trade Organization Director General is Brazilian, and the country’s president, Dilma Rousseff, will make a state visit this October.
Canadian customs broker Russell A. Farrow Ltd is changing its name to “Farrow” as part of an overall move to a new brand. Randy Motley, president of the Windsor-based broker’s Canadian operations, said he hopes the move will help “generate new business that will see us expand our job base in regional centers like Windsor, Cambridge, Detroit, Toronto, Edmonton, and Seattle.”