Part 111 Broker Modernization Final Rule Coming 'Any Moment,' CBP Official Says

CBP hopes that its 19 CFR 111 customs broker modernization final rule will go for publication "at any moment," and it will hold "multiple webinars" on the new regulations, which are set to eliminate district permits, to provide details on the rule as it is published, CBP Deputy Commissioner Troy Miller said at the Sept. 14 meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee.

The Treasury Department and CBP currently are in the final review process for the final rule, along with another final rule on the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, and "hope to have them approved in the very near future," Tom West, deputy assistant secretary-tax policy at Treasury, said, also during the COAC meeting.

Miller said he has seen continued progress on the 21st Century Customs Framework (21CCF) legislative package. Throughout the process of putting together the framework, he said, CBP has put a "strong emphasis on stakeholder input" from various customers, including trade and industry representatives. Close engagement with industry resulted in COAC formally expressing its support of "nearly half" of the 21CCF legislative package at the June meeting. Since then, CBP has made various updates to address industry feedback and to "identify areas for further refinement." As of today, he said that the 21CCF Task Force has expressed support for the majority of the legislative package, including statutory updates that would allow CBP to "address supply chain blind spots" and enable timely decision making.

West acknowledged that one of COAC's main focuses has been on trade facilitation measures, often putting it at odds with CBP proposals. But he said that CBP is open to discussing updates to the remainder of the legislative package, including trade facilitation. CBP "understands the importance of trade facilitation to [task force members] and to the health of the U.S. economy," Miller said.

Meanwhile, CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus will be discussing several key areas of collaboration with Mexico, including unified cargo processing, realignment of the U.S. and Mexican Authorized Economic Operator programs, and modernization of border infrastructure through new technologies and strategies at the High Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) this week, according to Miller.