The USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) has noticed an increase in misclassification of Christmas trees. To clear up any misunderstanding on the HTS codes for Christmas trees, the Christmas Tree Promotion Board provides the following information to improve accuracy and knowledge of the importation of Christmas trees:

Prospects for the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) duty suspensions and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) renewal improved last week when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer agreed to go to conference on the larger U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) — a bipartisan Senate-passed bill that aims to boost U.S. competition with China. The USICA package includes both GSP renewal and MTB duty suspensions.

The recent sentencing of a CEO of children's apparel company by a New York district court for engaging in a years-long scheme to defraud Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of import duties should also serve as reminder to the nation's customs brokers that it is important to know your customers and their business patterns.

Starting Jan. 25, all Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-flagged products must have a Message Set or a valid disclaimer filed in ACE.

The NCBFAA Transportation Committee’s Logistics Subcommittee is regularly collecting data on the nation’s rail delays and port congestion that are impacting the supply chain and your business operations.

In less than 60 days, a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quota system for bulk HFC production and imports will take effect. The final rule implements the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act passed last December, which mandates the phasedown of HFCs by 85 percent by 2036. HFCs are greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosols, and other products. For now, the rule only applies to bulk shipments, not products containing HFCs.

The USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) alerted the trade to the fact that tomato entries filed in ACE for AMS Marketing Order message sets are receiving a reject message for HTS subheadings that are not subject to program requirements.

Here is a summary of the latest customs and cross-border trade regulatory updates brought to you by our NCBFAA Customs Counsel firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg:

It is no secret to NCBFAA forwarder members that they spend a good deal of energy explaining export compliance responsibilities to the less educated exporters, only to hear occasionally that “you are the only forwarder who is asking me for this information.”

Congestion Excess Dwell Fee assessments at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will begin Nov. 15 for all containers that have been on dock at least nine days, port authority officials said.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., will continue to monitor and highlight key changes with regards to the May 28 Court of International Trade (CIT) opinion invalidating the IEEPA tariffs, the U.S. government's appeal through the Court of Appeals in the Federal Circuit (CAFC), and what that will mean for our customs broker members.

NCBFAA has opened registration for the 2025 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) to be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington on Sept. 7-9. We urge attendees to register now to take advantage of the special room block and early bird savings!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance providing drug manufacturers with recommendations on replacing color additives in drugs.

The HTS Sequencing Toolkit on the NCBFAA Customs Committee Webpage has been updated to include some helpful information about how to use the Treasury Check Verification System (TCVS).

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) has provided a roundup of the latest PGA news, including a Withhold Release Order involving a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, APHIS permitting fresh pineapple from Indonesia, and the continuation of live animal import restrictions from Mexico.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., will continue to monitor and highlight key changes with regards to the May 28 Court of International Trade (CIT) opinion invalidating the IEEPA tariffs, the U.S. government's appeal through the Court of Appeals in the Federal Circuit (CAFC), and what that will mean for our customs broker members.

NCBFAA has opened registration for the 2025 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) to be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington on Sept. 7-9. We urge attendees to register now to take advantage of the special room block and early bird savings!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance providing drug manufacturers with recommendations on replacing color additives in drugs.

The HTS Sequencing Toolkit on the NCBFAA Customs Committee Webpage has been updated to include some helpful information about how to use the Treasury Check Verification System (TCVS).

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) has provided a roundup of the latest PGA news, including a Withhold Release Order involving a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, APHIS permitting fresh pineapple from Indonesia, and the continuation of live animal import restrictions from Mexico.

The NCBFAA Customs Committee and Counsel of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., will continue to monitor and highlight key changes with regards to the May 28 Court of International Trade (CIT) opinion invalidating the IEEPA tariffs, the U.S. government's appeal through the Court of Appeals in the Federal Circuit (CAFC), and what that will mean for our customs broker members.

NCBFAA has opened registration for the 2025 Government Affairs Conference (GAC) to be held at the Grand Hyatt Washington on Sept. 7-9. We urge attendees to register now to take advantage of the special room block and early bird savings!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance providing drug manufacturers with recommendations on replacing color additives in drugs.

The HTS Sequencing Toolkit on the NCBFAA Customs Committee Webpage has been updated to include some helpful information about how to use the Treasury Check Verification System (TCVS).

The NCBFAA Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) has provided a roundup of the latest PGA news, including a Withhold Release Order involving a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, APHIS permitting fresh pineapple from Indonesia, and the continuation of live animal import restrictions from Mexico.