Licensed Customs Broker

CBP is requesting comments by Feb. 18 for an existing information collections related to customs brokers. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours.

CBP is continuing work toward a system of intellectual property rights enforcement that relies on interfacing with rights holders through its Centers of Excellence and Expertise, said John Clausen, a supervisory import specialist at the automotive and aerospace CEE in Detroit, during a Dec. 11 webinar hosted by the Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of Northern California and the Law Offices of George R. Tuttle. During the webinar, Clausen discussed other ways the trade community can ensure their intellectual property rights are enforced. Then George Tuttle III explained to anxious importers how to best ensure they don’t get caught in an inadvertent IPR violation.

Pilot Freight Services opened a U.S. customs brokerage, named Pilot Customs Brokerage, the transportation and logistics company said in a press release. The brokerage will allow Pilot "customers to rely on Pilot for every step in an international move—from pickup, air/ocean haul, and customs clearance to delivery—eliminating the need for third party involvement," the company said. "Pilot also offers customs brokerage as a stand-alone service for companies who are not current customers." Ilyse Dawicki, managing director of customer brokerage will run the operation, said Pilot. “Today’s importer wants timely clearances and 100 percent compliance,” said Dawicki. “Knowing that there is a licensed customs broker on site to audit for accuracy and that Pilot can clear freight arriving at any airport, seaport or container freight station, gives us even more credibility in the international freight arena.”

Ministers from World Trade Organization member countries reached agreement on measures to simplify customs procedures, as part of a package of deals announced at the Bali Ministerial Conference on Dec. 7 (see 13120903). The Agreement on Trade Facilitation aims to reduce costs and improve the speed and efficiency of customs procedures. The agreement will be legally binding, but will be a “multilateral” deal that only applies to WTO members that sign on to the deal. The WTO’s announcement of the deal lauded it as “one of the biggest reforms of the WTO since its establishment in 1995” (here).

Nearly one-third of exporters have lost sales because of U.S. export regulations, according to the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) 2013 Export Survey (here). COAC members discussed the survey, the first of its kind, at a meeting on Nov. 15 in Washington, D.C. Two of the main takeaways from the survey were the impact of export regulations on exporters and freight forwarders and the high cost of exports held at ports. One way the government could mitigate these negative outcomes is through flexible programs that target risk based on industry sector, said CBP’s Dan Baldwin.

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to provide clarity on how the agency is interpreting the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) and how it effects those involved in international trade. NCBFAA General Counsel Ed Greenberg of GKG Law submitted the Nov. 14 filing with FMCSA. The filing specifically requests information from FMCSA on how the agency is interpreting the MAP-21 statutory exemptions from bonding and registration requirements for customs brokers, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs), and indirect air carriers.

Cargo processing delays and exams continued to be the largest challenge faced by importers and brokers, according to the second annual trade efficiency survey, which was released Nov. 8 by CBP. The survey, completed in July by the Advisory Committee On Commercial Operations (COAC), is meant to be a look at CBP's trade facilitation efforts and success at lowering costs of compliance. The retroactive system of antidumping/countervailing duty orders seems to have a disproportionate effect on the trade industry considering the amount of discussion and controversy the issue creates, the survey said. The survey was among a large set of COAC materials released by CBP (see 13111227).

Some major questions on a requirement for proof of importer identity that should be obtained by customs brokers remain unresolved within a CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) subcommittee focused on the issue, it said. The issue of which importer bona fides should be required information for customs brokers is being considered as part of CBP's trade modernization efforts, which include an overhaul to the regulations for customs brokers in 19 CFR Part 111 (see 12062211). The COAC Role of the Broker Working Group started actively working on the bona fides issue in July, said a report from CBP released ahead of the Nov. 15 COAC meeting.

Correction: CBP mistakenly listed a number of revoked customs broker licenses as reinstated (see 13102504).

CBP again revoked 38 customs broker licenses it previously revoked and subsequently said were reinstated, said CBP. The licenses were originally revoked on Dec. 6 for failure to submit a 2009 or 2012 triennial report and fee, but were listed as reinstated on Aug. 8 because CBP said those licenses were named by mistake (see 13080720). CBP is now revoking a number of those licenses it mistakenly listed as being reinstated on Aug. 8. "Those brokers were never personally notified that their licenses were reinstated and have not been permitted to practice despite the erroneous publication," said CBP.