CBP will not be granting any additional extensions for new aluminum entry summary filing requirements related to Section 232 tariffs on Russia, a CBP official confirmed during a webinar hosted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America on April 6.
The Congressional Research Service described how the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis system and the newer Aluminum Import Monitoring system have functioned in recent years. The report, published last week, noted that SIMA was updated in 2020 so that importers have to disclose where a semi-finished product or a finished steel product was melted and poured.
A proposal to amend the Seafood Import Monitoring Regulations to require the importer of record to hold the International Fisheries Trade Permit and require foreign importers of record to appoint a U.S. resident agent to hold the IFTP would upend "longstanding commercial practices" with "no measurable improvement in SIMP supply chain tracking," the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments to the National Marine Fisheries Service dated March 17.
The Internal Revenue Service on March 27 released new proposed regulations to “provide guidance” on superfund excise taxes on imported chemicals and substances that took effect July 1 of last year. Comments are due May 30.
A San Diego broker-forwarder will pay $1 million in back wages and a $26,215 penalty for “egregious” violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act under a settlement reached with the Department of Labor to resolve allegations that it was illegally paying workers directly in Mexican pesos, DOL said in a March 20 news release.
CBP posted the following documents ahead of the March 29 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
The promise of the International Trade Data System “has unfortunately not been matched by reality,” with duplicative and repetitive entry requirements for partner government agencies, including the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments on NMFS implementation of ITDS submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.
The Customs Business Fairness Act, a bill that would restore a carve-out to bankruptcy law that would protect customs brokers, was reintroduced in the House last week. The bill would make it so that the money that brokers send to CBP to pay tariffs is not subject to clawback if the clients who paid the tariff go bankrupt. In bankruptcy, clawback provisions are there so that company insiders or other parties don't get favorable payments just before a filing.
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A recent change to CBP's Part 111 customs broker regulations that requires client termination and reporting to CBP of intentional attempts by the client to defraud the government could conflict with existing prior disclosure laws and put the broker-importer relationship into conflict, Sandra Bell, a DLA Piper trade lawyer and former CBP official, said in a March 9 blog post.