NEW ORLEANS -- CBP will run a second tabletop exercise for cybersecurity focused on carriers, Trade Modernization Branch Chief Kyle Griffin announced April 24 at the annual National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference. CBP held a similar tabletop exercise in February, which led to new guidance to help customs brokers plan for cybersecurity incidents (see 2304100051). The new tabletop exercise will focus on carriers and will incorporate some of what CBP learned from the previous exercise on brokers, Griffin said. He didn't provide a timetable for the second exercise but said they help CBP better understand its gaps in helping to prevent cyberattacks.
The current administration and subsequent ones are unlikely to remove Trump-era tariffs on China “because of the pressure of the labor vote, which is really the swing vote in this country right now,” said Anna Ashton, director of China corporate affairs with the Eurasia Group, speaking during an April 21 event hosted by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. She said she doesn't see either political party moving to repeal the measures.
The Federal Maritime Commission this week posted an instructional video on how to file a charge complaint. Charge complaints were established by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (see 2207140045). The video includes information about "the types of charges that can be contested, the materials needed to file a complaint, how investigations are conducted, and potential outcomes," according to an FMC press release.
The Federal Maritime Commission is giving more discretion to its Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations and Compliance (BEIC) by allowing it to issue notices of violations and to compromise civil penalty claims without first obtaining FMC approval. The changes, outlined in a final rule effective May 17, will "provide enhanced efficiency and flexibility during the enforcement process while maintaining Commission oversight," FMC said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service announced April 14 it will allow normal trade operations to resume with Mexico in species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, in line with a withdrawal of the trade suspension by CITES the previous day. “The CITES trade suspension with Mexico is withdrawn,” the FWS said. “The United States will resume normal trade operations with Mexico related to CITES species, effective immediately.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to list nine fentanyl-related substances -- meta-fluorofentanyl, meta-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl, para-methoxyfuranyl fentanyl, 3-furanyl fentanyl, 2′,5′-dimethoxyfentanyl, isovaleryl fentanyl, ortho-fluorofuranyl fentanyl, alpha′-methyl butyryl fentanyl, and para-methylcyclopropyl fentanyl -- under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, it said in a notice published April 13. The four substances are already temporarily controlled under a 2018 order that has been most recently extended until the end of 2024. "If finalized, this action would make permanent the existing regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess), or propose to handle these nine specific controlled substances," DEA said. Comments are due by May 15.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is finalizing controls on 4-piperidone as a list I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act. The chemical is used in the manufacture of fentanyl, DEA said. The agency is not setting a threshold for domestic and international transactions for these chemicals, so “all transactions involving 4-piperidone, regardless of size, shall be regulated and are subject to control under the CSA," and "chemical mixtures containing 4-piperidone are not exempt from regulatory requirements at any concentration." The listing takes effect May 12.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is issuing a final rule listing the bracted twistflower (Streptanthus bracteatus), a plant species from Texas, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The listing includes a 4(d) rule for this species that prohibits importation and exportation without a permit. New import and export restrictions set by the agency’s final rule take effect May 11.
MVM Logistics and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. (USA) Inc. submitted a Stipulation of Dismissal of a complaint, agreeing to continue settlement negotiations without the Federal Maritime Commission, the agency announced March 31. MVM in an October complaint accused MSC of charging $800,000 in unfair fees and failing to "establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable regulations and practices relating to or connected with receiving, handling, storing, or delivering property" (see 2210260029). MSC denied those allegations, saying the allegations were "so vague and ambiguous as to make it impractical" (see 2211220017). The FMC said it will discontinue the proceedings without prejudice.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a list of Ocean Transportation Intermediary license applications recently filed with the FMC. The applications, from 11 companies, include "license reissuance" applications, name change requests and more.