The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee Broker Modernization Working Group has reached consensus and is recommending, among other things, that the Customs Broker License Exam be offered at least quarterly; that the exam should not vary in its difficulty: and that CBP consider whether it's possible to offer the exam, which has a remote-test-taking option, on demand.
Licensed Customs Broker
Customs brokers are entities who assist importers in meeting federal requirements governing imports into the United States. Brokers can be private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Customs brokers oversee transactions related to customs entry and admissibility of merchandise, product classification, customs valuation, payment of duties, taxes, or other charges such as refunds, rebates, and duty drawbacks. To obtain a customs broker license, an individual must pass the U.S. Customs Broker License Exam. Customs brokers are not government employees and should not be confused with CBP officials. There are approximately 11,000 active licensed customs brokers in the United States.
CBP’s May 1 customs broker license exam had a pass rate of 13%, CBP said in a document posted ahead of the June 26 meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee. There were a total of 1,132 test takers, with 179 of those taking the test remotely, CBP said.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet June 26 remotely and in person in Long Beach, California, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due by June 21.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of May 6-12:
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's president told the U.S. trade representative that customs brokers and others in the trade community aren't "pro forced-labor, pro-pollution, pro-unsustainable environmental practices," but that too often, "‘race to the top’ objectives do not take into consideration the ability to actually implement the policies, and the costs associated with the goals."
FORT LAUDERDALE -- CBP in the final review and selection stage" for accreditors of continuing education for customs brokers, and will announce "in the coming months" the start date for broker continuing education requirements, the number of hours required for this triennial reporting period and the names of the approved accreditors, said Shari McCann, director of CBP's Cargo Security and Controls Division, on April 17.
PHILADELPHIA -- Getting the funding for ACE 2.0 is the biggest challenge, the executive director of CBP's trade transformation office said. He said the agency was unsuccessful in the budgetary process, and asked industry to lobby their representatives for funding.
The October 2023 customs broker licensing exam had a 34% pass rate, the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee said in an issue paper released Feb. 26. It said 1,141 people took the test Oct. 25, with 932 of those taking the exam in-person at testing centers and 209 taking the exam remotely. CBP changed from five answer choices to four answer choices per question for the October 2023 exam, "to better align the CBLE with exam industry best practices," it said. The next exam was recently moved from April 24 to May 1 (see 2312120046). The issue paper was posted ahead of the COAC meeting on March 6 (see 2402260061).
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee's (COAC) Broker Modernization Working Group will recommend that CBP unify the registration and "site selection process" for candidates applying for the customs brokers licensing exam. The goal would be to include "registration, site selection, payment, and other ancillary requirements," the working group said.
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