The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. in Washington, CBP said in a notice.
Licensed Customs Broker
Customs brokers are entities who assist importers in meeting federal requirements governing imports into the United States. Brokers can be private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Customs brokers oversee transactions related to customs entry and admissibility of merchandise, product classification, customs valuation, payment of duties, taxes, or other charges such as refunds, rebates, and duty drawbacks. To obtain a customs broker license, an individual must pass the U.S. Customs Broker License Exam. Customs brokers are not government employees and should not be confused with CBP officials. There are approximately 11,000 active licensed customs brokers in the United States.
CBP is undergoing its "own version of a corporate reorganization" as the agency continues work to increase the role of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, said Deputy Commissioner Kevin McAleenan , who spoke during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference on Sept. 16. The agency is aligning its staff with how industry is set up, he said. That includes adjustments to the agency's field operations, the Office of Trade and legal counsel, all of which is helping CBP develop a better "compliance and security posture," said McAleenan.
CBP said the following customs broker licenses and all associated permits are revoked without prejudice:
The saga of Coach’s trademark infringement lawsuit against Celco Customs Services has come to an end, with the California-based former customs brokerage withdrawing its appeal on Aug. 11 after settling the case for $8 million in late July. Despite Celco continuing the fight for over a year, the settlement equals the amount awarded by a Central California U.S. District Court jury in April 2013. Celco had argued that brokers can't be liable for trademark infringement because they aren't in a position to know the contents of a shipment. But District Judge Margaret Morrow ruled that Celco could be held responsible because it ignored several red flags related to the power of attorney associated with the importer of the infringing goods.
CBP posted a notice announcing that the next customs broker license exam will be on Monday, Oct. 6. The notice says test-takers will have 4.5 hours, a half hour longer than the agency previously allowed, to complete the exam. "The time was raised from the former limit of 4 hours to allow sufficient time for completion," said an agency spokeswoman. CBP said last year it would allow for 4.5 hours for the 2013 October exam, but eventually said the notice was incorrect (see 13062019 and 13062803).
CBP should require national customs broker permit holders to hire a certain number of licensed brokers in order to ensure responsible supervision and control when doing customs business, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) in a position paper. The paper describes the NCBFAA's various thoughts on how CBP should update customs broker regulations as it moves toward increased reliance on the national permit as part of the agency's modernization efforts. The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations for CBP recently advised the agency to also install some employment requirements in the regulations, but did not offer specific numbers (see 14052209).
CBP said the following customs broker licenses and all associated permits are canceled without prejudice:
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) will not move forward on a number of the agency's proposals that would have resulted in some new financial and licensing requirements for Ocean Transport Intermediaries (OTIs), said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. "Specifically, the FMC will not require any new license applications every two years, will not establish any summary revocation procedure for licenses, will not increase OTI bonds, will not establish any bond priority system or public filing of bond claims, will not establish regulations for advertising or the proposed rebuttable presumptions concerning the legality of actions by agents, and will not require all agency agreements to be in writing," the association said.
CBP said the following individual customs broker licenses and any and all associated permits have been canceled due to the death of the broker:
The U.S. principal party in interest (USPPI) may be criminally culpable for export control violations associated with “routed export transactions,” such as improper licenses or classifications, said Obama administration officials with the Departments of Homeland Security and State at a June 27 panel hosted by the Washington Foreign Law Society. “Routed export transactions” involve the foreign principal party in interest (FPPI) as the party responsible for the export. The Export Administration Regulations and the Foreign Trade Regulations have slightly different definitions for “routed export transactions,” which has caused confusion among exporters (see 14020524).