Registration for the May 1 customs broker license exam opened on Feb. 20 and will close March 21, at 4:30 p.m., CBP said. Registration for the exam can be found at the Customs Brokers webpage on CBP's website. The agency previously announced that the exam date was being moved from April 24 to May 1 (see 2312120046).
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Latest spectrum auction news
Georgia woman Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois filed suit at the Court of International Trade Feb. 16 to contest six questions on the October 2021 customs broker license exam. In her complaint, Stoute-Francois said that after appealing the test results to the Treasury Department, she was left just short of the 75% grade needed to pass the test, failing at 73.75% (Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois v. U.S., CIT # 24-00046).
CBP is now accepting applications to become approved accreditors of customs broker continuing education activities under a recent final rule that requires brokers to complete 36 hours of continuing education every three years to maintain their licenses (see 2306220036).
International trade attorney Lindsay Meyer, co-chair of Venable's international trade group, has retired, according to a firm notice at the Court of International Trade. Meyer received her J.D. degree from the George Washington University Law School in 1987 and worked in international trade for over 30 years, covering trade remedies, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and customs and homeland security matters. She also is a licensed customs broker.
Ted Mittelstaedt, founder of the San Francisco customs brokerage Mittelstaedt, Galaviz & Mylin, died Jan. 17 at the age of 92 after a brief illness, said his son Edward Mittlestaedt, who also is a customs broker. Ted was a Korean War veteran who got his customs broker license in 1957, MG&M said. He worked at the brokerage through early January.
A customs broker can’t hire an unlicensed company to key in data on entry filings, even if the entries themselves are vetted and transmitted by the broker, CBP said in a recent ruling.
CBP is temporarily suspending operations at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, the agency said. The suspension, which CBP said is effective Dec. 18, is meant to help CBP redirect personnel to "assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody," the agency said.
The 2024 Customs Broker Triennial Status Report (TSR) and the associated $100 filing fee for all licensed customs brokers opens Dec. 18, CBP said. The TSR, which was announced in a Dec. 14 CSMS message, must be submitted by Feb. 29, the agency said.
The customs broker license examination that was scheduled for April 24, 2024, is being moved to May 1, 2024, CBP said in a notice released Dec. 12. The previous date for the exam conflicted with the Jewish religious holiday of Passover, the agency said.
A payment of $174.80 for the annual customs broker permit user fee is due by Feb. 9, CBP said in a notice published Nov. 27. That's up from $163.71 last year (see 2212150045).