The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) announced the its leaders for 2013.
CBP announced the location and agenda for next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC), Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. (ET) in Washington, D.C. Online registration for webcast and in-person participation is available through Nov. 30, said a notice in the Federal Register Nov. 16.
CBP updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the process toward achieving mutual recognition arrangements (MRA) and bilateral understandings between two customs administrations. Among new material included since the previous version, CBP notes "an MRA is expected to be signed with Taiwan in the Fall of 2012." The update also includes additional detail on the process for mutual recognition of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program and foreign industry partner programs
CBP posted an updated document on the mutual recognition of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and foreign industry partnership programs. The document closely follows CBP's August version.
CBP will host a Trade Fair to provide members of the trade community the opportunity to speak one on one with representatives of federal agencies involved with imports and exports, CBP said in a CSMS message. The event will be Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the M.O. Campbell Educational Center located at 1865 Aldine Bender Road, Houston, TX 77032.
CBP released a list of government agencies that will attend a coming trade fair in Texas:
Supply chain solutions provider Marken said it was again designated as a C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) certified company, following a CBP inspection. It first achieved the designation in 2008, it said.
CBP officials addressed a number of myths surrounding the agency's rewrite of broker regulations in 19 CFR Part 111. Elena Ryan, director for trade facilitation and administration at CBP said the agency heard brokers report several pieces of misinformation regarding the regulatory update. Ryan and others spoke during an Oct. 4 Webinar that provided a rundown of the agency's outreach efforts to the broker industry. The Webinar is part of agencies outreach effort to explore the "Role of the Broker."
CBP is expanding its Importer Self-Assessment (ISA) program to allow importers that have gone through other stringent government reviews to take advantage of the program, according to an Oct. 5 Federal Register notice. The agency will now allow companies that have gone through a CBP Focused Assessment (FA) audit to take part in ISA without additional reviews. The change formalizes an informal and not widely known practice that CBP has had over the last couple of years, said an industry executive.
CBP opened the Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals Center of Excellence and Expertise CEE in Houston Sept. 17, it said in a Sept. 24 press release. The CEE has started centralized processing for all trusted partners in the industry, "providing uniformity for trusted importers," said CBP.