The CBP 2017 ACE Customer Satisfaction Survey is open now through midnight, December 8. CBP encourages all importers, brokers, carriers and other trade community users of ACE to take the 5-10 minute voluntary and anonymous survey. Results from this survey allow CBP to gauge the impact of ACE and to identify areas needing improvement. Because of the larger the response the more meaningful the survey results, the NCBFAA urges all members affected by ACE to take the time to participate in this exercise.

NCBFAA has worked diligently with CBP in the wake of the most recent customs broker licensing exam to find a workable remedy for our future fellow members of the LCB community. NCBFAA's Customs Committee, Customs Counsel Alan Klestadt and EVP Megan Montgomery spearheaded a comment collection campaign to identify testing site issues, communicate with the LCB applicants, and worked with CBP to fashion a remedy that best serves the needs of CBP, the LCB community as a whole and the applicants themselves as well. CBP was eager to support the applicants who experienced test day issues and we were grateful for the opportunity to advocate on behalf of our members and future members. The final remedy included the opportunity for unsuccessful candidates to sit for a future exam free of additional charges and a renewed focus on getting the electronic testing perfected before the April 2018 exam. NCBFAA and CBP remain committed together to modernizing the brokers exam and deliver timely results to future applicants.

NCBFAA Executive Vice President devoted time after the holiday break to planning NCBFAA's 2018 budgets and office focus. 2018 is shaping up to be a year of membership and growth for the NCBFAA, and she couldn't be more excited. She also continued to focus on the upcoming Annual Conference and getting the directory and Annual Report together in conjunction with the Annual Conference. She is very eager to connect with NCBFAA members who will be in attendance at both the Conference of the America's and the East Coast Trade Symposium this week.

On November 27, 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a final rule entitled Changes to the In-Bond Process. The final rule adopted, with several changes, proposed amendments to CBP regulations regarding the in-bond process.

NCBFAA's Regulatory Agencies Committee and the FDA have been working in partnership for over 5 years on the development of filer review guidelines that are fair, equitable and uniform across all 5 FDA US districts. In conjunction with this collaboration, FDA has offered NCBFAA's members the opportunity to participate in a pilot of these filer review guidelines between January to mid-February 2018. The guidelines are currently still in draft form but will be released to eligible potential participants upon request.

After serving for five years on the FMC, Commissioner William P. Doyle has announced his intention to leave the Commission effective January 3, 2018. Nominated to the post by President Barack Obama, he was confirmed for his first term on January 1, 2013, and for his second term on January 29, 2015.

The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA) directed the FDA to better protect public health by adopting a modern, preventive, and risk-based approach to food safety regulation. The FDA's final rule, Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (Sanitary Transportation rule), establishes requirements for shippers, loaders, carriers by motor vehicle and rail vehicle, and receivers engaged in the transportation of food, including food for animals, to use sanitary transportation practices to ensure the safety of the food they transport.

The results of CBP's October 25th Customs Broker Exam as well as the answer key and remedies available for the folks who were unsuccessful will be sent to test takers this week (the week of the 27th). The NCBFAA worked diligently with CBP to try and find a remedy for the issues experienced during the exam and we hope that our colleagues and future members are well served by our efforts.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday last week and a great start to their holiday season. As it was a short week, NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery dedicated a majority of her time to internal administration of the Association and preparation for a busy December of traveling. She looks forward to see everyone at either the upcoming Florida Brokers Conference of the America's or CBP's East Coast Trade Symposium. The Association continued to monitor the progress on ACE stabilization and the upcoming deployments. We are planning for the future with a staff wide meeting on how our website can better serve members over the upcoming year. If you have any thoughts on the current website (content, layout, ease of use, organization, etc.) please shoot Megan an email between now and December 8th so we can have the best staff discussion possible about how to best meet our member's needs.

Many freight forwarders, brokers, and U.S. companies are not aware of the best kept secret within the federal government. It's a tool available to help thousands of businesses expand and grow through selling their products and services internationally. The sole purpose of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is to help American businesses grow through exporting. That is why the NCBFAA is providing an opportunity to learn more about EXIM -- America's official export credit agency. EXIM empowers U.S. companies to fight for and win more international sales through providing working capital, insurance, and loan guarantees. In fact, EXIM is already providing trade finance support to many freight forwarders, including NCBFAA member firm World Commerce Forwarding, and exporters like ATN Industries.

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.