The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association (NCBFAA) has some serious qualms with a recent CBP proposal that would establish a process for canceling a broker's filer code (see 13022521). CBP, which seems to want the ability to immediately shut down a business, may not understand the severity of what the revocation of a filing code would mean, said Alan Klestadt, a lawyer with Grunfeld Desiderio and customs counsel for the association. Klestadt spoke at the NCBFAA conference April 10. NCBFAA will file comments in opposition and push CBP to withdrawal the proposal, he said. "I believe if this proposal goes forward, almost in any shape or form, even with provisions, the first time they use that authority, we're going to be in court." Even if the regulations go forward as is, "we're going to have to look at our remedies before they flex that muscle, said Klestadt. Outside of a conviction in court, "I can't really see a scenario where CBP can summarily pull a filer code."
CBP issued its April 10 Customs Bulletin (Vol. 47, No. 16), which contains notices of the following ruling action:
CBP is considering continuing education requirements of 40 hours every three years for customs brokers to maintain their licenses, said Elena Ryan, director of Trade Facilitation and Administration at CBP, who spoke via telephone at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 10 in California. The requirement would amount to about an "hour a month" and it would be up to the broker to decide how they want to spread it out, she said. The framework, which is still in very "preliminary stages" was developed by CBP and the NCBFAA as part of the ongoing review of 19 CFR 111 regulations. The issue has been one of the more controversial aspects of the review (see 13031422).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website April 9, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)
About 94.5 percent of C-TPAT members complied with C-TPAT security guidelines during 2012, somewhat below the 100 percent goal, according to the CBP's annual fiscal year 2012 performance report released by CBP. The results also were below the 95.1 percent in 2011. The report also said 100 percent of inbound high-risk cargo was screened and its entry was resolved prior to or during processing at the U.S. port of entry. It said 98 percent of requested cargo examinations were done at foreign ports of origin in cooperation with host nations under CSI, below the 100 percent goal, but better than the 96 percent in 2011. Other findings:
CBP posted revised Document Image System (DIS) Implementation Guidelines and Schema on its website (here). The posting includes four new documents added, with some minor updates:
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to CBP's website April 8, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)
CBP plans an April 16 webinar on "Manifesting and Entry of Residue Found in Instruments of International Traffic (IITs)." The one-hour webinar primarily targets companies that may be eligible to participate on the test. Speakers are to include Amy Hatfield, Branch Chief, Cargo Conveyance & Security, Office of Field Operations, Jeremy Baskin, Assistant to the Executive Director of Regulations and Rulings, Office of International Trade, and James Swanson, Office of Field Operations ACE Liaison. The panelists will discuss the CBP National Customs Automation Program Test Concerning Manifesting and Entry of Residue Found in IITs. The webinar will conclude with a question and answer session. The webinar will be at 1 p.m., and repeated at 2:30 p.m. To join the meeting: (here).
Despite budget concerns, CBP made several new postings about hiring new Border Patrol agents. They included:
CBP issued notices of final determination of the country of origin of two products, in Federal Register notices scheduled for April 10 (Parties of interest can seek judicial review by May 10):