CBP will postpone the deployment of CBP Form 5106 that was planned for Feb. 9, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said. During a Jan. 16 conference call, CBP said it would make the decision to delay only if the government remained closed as of Feb. 1 (see 1901160025). Following some concerns raised during that call, the agency apparently revised its plans. "Considering the trade concerns presented and deployment planning needed, the 5106 Cutover scheduled for 2/9/2019 will be postponed due to the government shutdown," CBP said, according to an NCBFAA email. "A new cutover date will be established and messaged with an advance notice once the government reopens."

Measures of compliance among steel products importers are down since the imposition of sections 301 and 232 tariffs, said the American Institute for International Steel’s Customs Committee in its 2018 year-end report. CBP told the trade association that compliance measured by the letter of the law for imports in Harmonized Tariff Schedule chapters 72 and 73 was down to 96.46 percent in fiscal year 2018, and down to 97.8 percent when measured by major trade discrepancies, CBP told AIIS, the report said. “Issues with Section 232 and Section 301 entries presumably contributed to the reductions,” the report said.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai seeking an emergency Monday briefing for committee staff on why the commission hasn't ended top wireless carriers' unauthorized location data disclosures (see 1901100046). The briefing “cannot wait” until the end of the partial government shutdown (see 1901100020), which has put most FCC activities on hiatus, because it's “in the interest of public safety and national security,” Pallone said. The agency “once again appears to have dragged its feet in protecting consumers,” he said. “While some carriers have now recommitted to stopping such unauthorized disclosure, the public can no longer rely on their voluntary promises to protect this extremely sensitive information.” The FCC “must take immediate action to ensure no wireless carrier is allowing the rampant disclosure of real-time location data and take enforcement action against carriers that violated the Commission’s rules and the trust of their customers,” Pallone said. Verizon is joining AT&T in ending location aggregation agreements, a practice criticized over claims carriers sold customers' real-time location that bounty hunters accessed, a spokesperson said Friday. Verizon noted it wasn’t among companies -- AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile -- included in the Motherboard report. Verizon and the other three major carriers agreed to end such arrangements in the summer in response to a report on data brokers enabling misuse of customer data. “We have followed through on our commitment to terminate aggregation arrangements and provide location information only with the express consent of our customers,” Verizon said. The company ended deals with data broker Zumigo and by March will end agreements with roadside assistance companies, Verizon said. T-Mobile and Sprint didn't comment.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai seeking an emergency Monday briefing for committee staff on why the commission hasn't ended top wireless carriers' unauthorized location data disclosures (see 1901100046). The briefing “cannot wait” until the end of the partial government shutdown (see 1901100020), which has put most FCC activities on hiatus, because it's “in the interest of public safety and national security,” Pallone said. The agency “once again appears to have dragged its feet in protecting consumers,” he said. “While some carriers have now recommitted to stopping such unauthorized disclosure, the public can no longer rely on their voluntary promises to protect this extremely sensitive information.” The FCC “must take immediate action to ensure no wireless carrier is allowing the rampant disclosure of real-time location data and take enforcement action against carriers that violated the Commission’s rules and the trust of their customers,” Pallone said. Verizon is joining AT&T in ending location aggregation agreements, a practice criticized over claims carriers sold customers' real-time location that bounty hunters accessed, a spokesperson said Friday. Verizon noted it wasn’t among companies -- AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile -- included in the Motherboard report. Verizon and the other three major carriers agreed to end such arrangements in the summer in response to a report on data brokers enabling misuse of customer data. “We have followed through on our commitment to terminate aggregation arrangements and provide location information only with the express consent of our customers,” Verizon said. The company ended deals with data broker Zumigo and by March will end agreements with roadside assistance companies, Verizon said. T-Mobile and Sprint didn't comment.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai seeking an emergency Monday briefing for committee staff on why the commission hasn't ended top wireless carriers' unauthorized location data disclosures (see 1901100046). The briefing “cannot wait” until the end of the partial government shutdown (see 1901100020), which has put most FCC activities on hiatus, because it's “in the interest of public safety and national security,” Pallone said. The agency “once again appears to have dragged its feet in protecting consumers,” he said. “While some carriers have now recommitted to stopping such unauthorized disclosure, the public can no longer rely on their voluntary promises to protect this extremely sensitive information.” The FCC “must take immediate action to ensure no wireless carrier is allowing the rampant disclosure of real-time location data and take enforcement action against carriers that violated the Commission’s rules and the trust of their customers,” Pallone said. Verizon is joining AT&T in ending location aggregation agreements, a practice criticized over claims carriers sold customers' real-time location that bounty hunters accessed, a spokesperson said Friday. Verizon noted it wasn’t among companies -- AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile -- included in the Motherboard report. Verizon and the other three major carriers agreed to end such arrangements in the summer in response to a report on data brokers enabling misuse of customer data. “We have followed through on our commitment to terminate aggregation arrangements and provide location information only with the express consent of our customers,” Verizon said. The company ended deals with data broker Zumigo and by March will end agreements with roadside assistance companies, Verizon said. T-Mobile and Sprint didn't comment.

The U.S. trade representative will negotiate with the European Union to seek to "secure comprehensive market access for U.S. agricultural goods in the EU by reducing or eliminating tariffs," and eliminate "non-tariff barriers that discriminate against U.S. agricultural goods," the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said.

Some new tariff provisions in the 2019 edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule have already been implemented, despite the ongoing partial federal government shutdown and the resulting lack of any official version published by the International Trade Commission. According to documents recently posted by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, changes affect classification for infant footwear, aluminum foil and paper, among other products. Extensive changes were also made to units of measure throughout the tariff schedule. On the other hand, changes made by a recent presidential proclamation, including the removal of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits for Mauritania, have yet to be implemented by CBP, the NCBFAA has said. The following is a summary of the purported changes to the tariff schedule:

The partial federal government shutdown is preventing the Environmental Protection Agency's review of vehicle import compliance and paper notices of arrival for pesticides. "EPA personnel are not excepted from the shutdown for the purpose of making compliance determinations or otherwise advising CBP on the compliance of any such vehicles and engines," according to one automatic response from an EPA employee contacted by email. "In the case of any urgent need for CBP to discuss a matter with the EPA regarding the importation of vehicles and engines subject to the Clean Air Act, please contact Evan Belser at belser.evan@epa.gov or 202-564-6850. Mr. Belser is the Chief of the Vehicle and Engines Enforcement Branch at EPA HQ, and is excepted for the limited purpose of managing any such correspondence."

Continued economic "prosperity" is no "foregone conclusion” amid the broadly held concern about the impact to the U.S. economy of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and “corresponding retaliation against U.S. exports, said Americans for Free Trade in a Jan. 9 “welcome” letter to newly elected and returning members of Congress. “We agree that China must be held to account for its violations of our trade laws and the international trade obligations all nations share,” said the coalition, whose 150 members include multiple associations of customs brokers. “Imposition of a tariff of up to 25 percent on $250 billion worth of China products -- and the threat to impose a similar duty on $267 billion more of such products -- will not remedy the situation. We continue to see stories on a daily basis about companies, both large and small, who are being harmed by these tariffs.” The coalition urges Congress to “exercise its oversight role on trade policy matters to prevent further harm to U.S. workers, consumers, and families that will result from both the existing and proposed tariffs,” it said.

A National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America event focused on the Federal Maritime Commission that was planned for Jan. 16 will be postponed, the NCBFAA said in a notice. Two FMC commissioners were scheduled to speak at the event, which "will be rescheduled after the reopening of the Federal Government," the NCBFAA said. Full refunds will be issued for those that registered, the association said.