CBP recently updated its Centers of Excellence and Expertise Trade Process Document on responsibilities and procedures for filers, importers and brokers, it said June 28 (here). The updated document reflects the full implementation of the 10 CEEs and regulatory changes that codified the CEEs in a December interim final rule (see 1612190014), as well as changes to electronic filing procedures that have resulted from CBP’s rollout of ACE since the last version of the document was released in 2014. Changes include a statement that the CEEs will provide courtesy copies by mail or email of Requests for Information (CBP Form 28) and Notices of Action (CBP Form 29) to the broker contact listed in the relevant importer’s portal account. The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America said CBP officials agreed to notify brokers in late April (see 1705150011). The updated document also recommends that, though the trade community may submit prior disclosures to either a port or one of the CEEs, filers should only send the prior disclosure to one location. “CBP has internal procedures to route the prior disclosure to the proper Center team for collaboration, review and action with [Fines, Penalties & Forfeitures]."

CBP is currently in the midst of drafting regulatory requirements for broker validation of importer powers of attorney, said Julia Peterson, chief of CBP’s broker management branch, during a June 26 webinar. Required by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, the new regulations will have to pass muster with the Trump administration executive order requiring the repeal of two regulations for every one issued, but “I think we have a path,” Peterson said. Though she couldn’t give a date, there’s a “good shot” the proposed regulations could be available in the next six to nine months, Peterson said.

AUSTIN, Texas -- CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan will raise the need for a worldwide unique facility identifier when he travels to Brussels in early July for a meeting of the World Customs Organization policy council, Valerie Neuhart, acting director of CBP’s Office of Trade Relations, said on June 21. McAleenan will be joined in the effort by representatives from Canada and Mexico, who have also been in discussions with CBP about harmonizing unique facility identifiers, she said, speaking during a panel discussion of upcoming ACE priorities at the American Association of Exporters and Importers annual conference.

Duty deferral provisions within NAFTA should be left out of any updated deal, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments to the U.S. trade representative (here). Under NAFTA, some products processed in the U.S. "require a special deferral entry to be filed with duty payment to CBP" when exported to Canada or Mexico, the group said. "This special entry and duty payment would not apply if the same shipment were exported to any other country outside of NAFTA" and therefore "hinder U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada," the group said. The NCBFAA comments were in response to a USTR request for public input on how it should update NAFTA.

The October customs broker’s license examination is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 25, CBP said in a notice (here). While usually scheduled for the first Monday in October, "to avoid concerns related to the commencement of the federal government’s 2018 fiscal year, CBP has decided to change the regularly scheduled date of the examination," CBP said. The exam typically consists of 80 multiple-choice questions, with a score of at least 75 percent required to pass.

An importer’s conduct in a court case does not affect the amount of penalties that should be assessed for tariff misclassification, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued June 7 (here). Although the government had sought $324,540 in penalties from Horizon Products International for the importer’s negligent misclassification of its plywood imports in a duty free tariff subheading, CIT instead authorized half that. A “significant penalty” was warranted for “slow-playing the Government,” but failure to cooperate in a court case should instead be addressed by other means, it said.

Actions resulting from the Commerce Department’s ongoing national security investigation on steel imports could disrupt U.S. import-intensive industries and any remedies should be tailored to specific types of steel, companies said in comments to Commerce (here). Commerce recently posted comments it accepted through May 31 on its Section 232 investigation on steel imports, which would allow the Trump administration to impose tariffs, quotas or other import restraints if the review finds steel imports endanger U.S. national security. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said the department should finish the examination this month (see 1705240034).

Entry filers must transmit data required by the Food and Drug Administration for stand-alone light-emitting diodes, but don’t have to for finished products that incorporate LEDs as indicator lights, FDA Director of Enforcement and Import Operations Doug Stearn said in a letter to the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America dated May 25 (here). The NCBFAA had requested clarification of LED reporting requirements in April. Stearn said FDA recently discovered that some LED products, subject to FDA reporting requirements for radiation-emitting electronic products, were not being transmitted to FDA for review.

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- The increase in the de minimis value threshold last year seems already to be driving a shift in international trade patterns, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner for the CBP Office of Trade, during a May 25 interview at the West Coast Trade Symposium. "What we're seeing is significant changes in supply chains," reflected in the growing number of Section 321 entries, she said. For example, one port in Alabama with few CBP officers "is suddenly getting this flood because it's close to a distribution center," she said. Likely, that's a result of container-loads full of under $800 small packages that qualify for de minimis, she said.

Despite the near elimination of an account for ACE development in the proposed fiscal year 2018 budget (see 1705230031), CBP is requesting additional funding for ensuring the system continues to operate smoothly, according to its FY 2018 budget justification (here). The proposed budget includes an “increase of $45.1 million” in FY 2018 for “ACE Core Functionality,” including funding for additional “software sustainment teams.” CBP is also requesting substantial increases in funding required to implement mandates in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015.