The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Dec. 13 remotely and in Washington, D.C., CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by Dec. 8.
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 will be deploying a new capability in ACE that will “automate the enforcement” of Section 321 requirements for low value shipments, the agency said in an updated ACE deployment schedule released Nov. 14.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 30 denied a petition for writ of certiorari regarding one question on Nebraska man Byungmin Chae's customs broker license exam. Chae took the test in April 2018 and subsequently took the result through multiple levels of administrative and judicial appeal before seeking Supreme Court review. He will remain one correct answer shy of the 75% threshold needed to pass the exam (Byungmin Chae v. Janet Yellen, U.S. Sup. Ct. # 23-200).
The Texas Department of Public Safety has begun truck inspections at its facility outside of the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge in Laredo, Texas, according to a CBP email released by the Laredo Licensed U.S. Customs Brokers Association. CBP said the inspections are expected to remain in place until further notice and delays are expected, according to the LLUSCBA.
The upcoming, near-certain government shutdown should last at least one week, and has a good chance of lasting three weeks or more, said Nicole Bivens Collinson, legislative counsel for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, speaking on a call hosted by the NCBFAA Sept. 29.
Even though thousands of CBP employees will be required to work without pay to clear cargo in the case of a government shutdown on Sunday, importers are preparing for problems, since they have experienced them in previous shutdowns.
Texas Department of Public Safety inspections are causing delays at the ports of Eagle Pass and El Paso/Ysleta Bridge, but Southern border ports remain open for commercial processing despite an influx of migrants (see 2109200028), with the exception of rail at Eagle Pass, according to an email from a CBP official sent out by the Laredo Licensed U.S. Customs Broker Association.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, is circulating a joint statement for signature by other trade groups that advocates for keeping "all avenues of international trade" open in the event of a government shutdown if Congress doesn't agree to a funding bill by Sept. 30.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, with importers bearing the burden of proof, is the No. 1 forced labor compliance issue, panelists said, outpacing disclosure and due diligence laws in other countries around the world.
CBP posted a new “Version 2.0” of its Customs Broker Guidance for the Trade Community on Sept. 8, adding new information on qualifying licensed individual brokers, recordkeeping requirements for broker separation from a client, filer code suspensions and CBP standards for responsible supervision and control, among other things.