COAC Recommends Allowing for Some Non-Accredited Material Counting Toward Continuing Ed

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) advised CBP to allow for some non-accredited materials to count toward a planned 40-hour requirement for customs broker continuing education, it said during the Aug. 7 COAC meeting. That would be part of a "measured, commercially reasonable approach" to the expected changes, said Vincent Iacopella, chief operating office of Janel World Trade and a co-chair of the COAC "Role of the Broker" working group.

CBP's continuing education requirement should allow for up to eight hours of non-accredited education to count toward the 40-hour requirement, the working group recommended. CBP and the trade industry have been working to develop continuing education requirements as part of a broad update to customs broker regulations (see 13041104). The agency had not previously mentioned how it would consider non-accredited materials.

The working group also recommended that the continuing education should be reported to CBP as part of its triennial reports already required as part of the brokers' license. CBP said the continuing education recommendations "make sense." The COAC is also hoping to have a set of recommendations for establishing bona fides, another major part of the "Role of the Broker" initiative (see 12062211) by the Nov. 14 COAC meeting, said Iacopella.