Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Jan. 22. The corresponding downloadable rulings are now available.
International Trade Today will periodically feature a Q&A with a customs industry professional. Our interviewee for this edition is Barbara Carman, Director of Compliance with BCB International, a privately held customs brokerage in Buffalo, N.Y. Carman has been with BCB International since 1995 Licensed in 1992, she has been in the customs brokerage industry for almost 30 years and is an active member of the NCBFFA and the International Compliance Professionals Association.
CBP is telling the trade community it will put manifest holds on any cargo at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach that does not have an Importer Security Filing (ISF) 48 hours before arrival, according to alerts sent out by A.N. Deringer (here) and OHL (here), among others. The new "enforcement posture" was effective Jan. 20, CBP told the Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (here). The ISF program requires advance cargo information submission to CBP within 24 hours before the cargo is loaded onto an ocean vessel going to the U.S. CBP begin increasing ISF enforcement efforts in July (see 13062613) and discussed the increased use of manifest holds by CBP's Los Angeles/Long Beach field office in October (see 13100810).
The Airforwarders Association's regular membership grew by nearly 25 percent over the past year, much of which coming in recent weeks, the group said in a press release. The AfA now represents 230 freight forwarding companies focused on cargo and over 120 other businesses and organizations, it said. "As they contemplate increased business in an improving economy, forwarders are likely realizing that the regulatory framework for air freight and other commonly used modes is now more extensive and complex than ever," said AfA Executive Director Brandon Fried. "So they want to make certain their voice is heard in Washington and that they have a way to keep current on regulatory and industry developments."
A group of trade associations are working together to create the Conflict Minerals Resource Center, a website meant to "provide education to help companies in the supply chain comply" with Securities and Exchange Commission rules requiring companies to publicly disclose their use of conflict minerals that originate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country, they said in a press release. "The goal of the joint initiative is to deploy easy-to-use Conflict Minerals compliance tools across the seven industry associations," they said. "By providing the member companies and their vendors and contractors with the information and resources needed to meet the compliance requirements, all players along the supply chain can spend less time navigating policy, and more time producing the products and services that generate economic growth and jobs."
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreements under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreement to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.
CBP posted a Jan. 22 version of its CF 1400 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Entrances) electronic query report of the Vessel Management System (VMS), in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by entrances. CBP also posted a version of its CF 1401 (Record of Vessel in Foreign Trade Clearances) electronic query report of the VMS, in accordance with 19 CFR 4.95, organized by clearances.
CBP seized about 78 pounds of cocaine found in a shipping container in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the agency said. CBP found the cocaine during a secondary inspection of a container arriving on the M/V Caribbean Fantasy ferry from Santo Domingo, it said.
CBP Miami will hold a "Trade Day" event on April 2 from 9 a.m.-noon, it said in an information bulletin. There won't be formal presentation but will be a chance to interact with representatives of federal agencies regulating imports, said CBP. The event will be held in the lobby of the Cargo Clearance Center in Miami at 6601 NW 25th Street.
CBP's Port of Seattle issued a Trade Information Notice soliciting comments on the six applications to operate a Centralized Examination Station (CES) for the Seattle and Tacoma ports. The applicants were CEVA International, Horizon Lines, MacMillan-Piper, Mitco Limited, Mercer Distribution Services and PCC Logistics, said CBP.