President Bush and Commerce Secretary Gutierrez recognized 19 U.S. organizations with 'E' and 'E-Star' Awards for their commitment to strengthening U.S.' global competitiveness by expanding their export success. 'E' recipients include Fed Ex Corporation, Johnsonville Sausage, and the Seattle University. (Commerce press release, dated 05/20/08, available at http://www.commerce.gov/NewsRoom/PressReleases_FactSheets/PROD01_006046)
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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a proposed rule to amend 19 CFR 111.13 to add three requirements that an individual must satisfy in order to take the written examination for an individual customs broker's license, as administered by CBP.
On May 19, 2008, the Federal Maritime Commission held an industry briefing with the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association, which covered a number of current issues and concerns, including equipment shortages in the export trades and marine terminal issues. (FMC dated 05/21/08, available at http://www.fmc.gov/speeches/newsrelease.asp?SPEECH_ID=245 )
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted four textile and apparel informed compliance publications that were reviewed in May 2008 with no change.
The following Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Court of International Trade cases on international trade issues were dated/decided during May 7 - 20, 2008:
On May 20, 2008, the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade held a hearing on "Export Compliance: Ensuring Safety, Increasing Efficiency."
On May 15, 2008, the Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved the Clean Truck Program (CTP) Drayage Services Concession Agreement, which paves the way for the Port of Los Angeles to begin the transition to a Licensed Motor Carrier-based truck concession program beginning October 1, 2008.
The Census Bureau reports that the customs broker and freight forwarder association of Atlanta is sponsoring an Automated Export System Compliance Seminar and Workshop in Atlanta, GA on June 10 & 11, 2008. The U.S. Census Bureau and port officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection will participate as presenters. (Census notice available at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/meetingsandpresentations/exportcompliance-atlanta-20080610.html )
At the April 2008 National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America's Annual Conference, U.S. government officials discussed the Automated Export System (AES) and other export related issues.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a Truck Manifest CSMS message announcing that it has fixed the problem with the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is experiencing some synchronization issues with the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) database that was causing Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL) to appear to be expired. According to CBP, Truck manifest filers should not be receiving rejected manifests based on expired CDLs.