Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Customs moves ahead with trade facilitation initiatives

CBP proposals would make import transactions more efficient, expand role of customs brokers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is moving forward with three trade facilitation initiatives. Two will make international trade processes more efficient, and one will expand the role customs brokers play in trade security.

In a presentation at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) 10th Annual Northeast Cargo Symposium held earlier this month in Foxborough, Mass., Stephen Hilsen, CBP's director of trade policy and agreements, outlined the initiatives' objectives. Implementation details are being worked out in consultation with the trade community, Hilsen said.


The first initiative, "simplified processes," would streamline the entry submission and cargo release processes for low-risk importers. CBP is looking at reducing the number of data elements required for the entry summary—the foundation of all customs clearance activities—from 27 down to 13 to 16. One way to do that, Hilsen said, might be to stop requiring importers to provide transportation information that CBP already receives from carriers. That would allow importers to file entry summaries earlier since they would no longer have to wait for carriers to supply the data. Hilsen also noted that many of the elements would be the same as those on the Importer Security Filing (ISF) and that CBP may someday be able to collect data once and apply it for both purposes.

CBP also is considering linking the now-separate filing of entry summaries and payment of duties, taxes, and fees, and separating those transactions from the cargo release process. In addition, rather than continually file formal entries as cargo arrives, approved low-risk importers would be allowed to summarize all entries for a single "business month" on one document and then amend the entries and file final details and financial information for those entries at a later time. CBP is seeking importers and customs brokers to test the concept through a pilot involving air freight.

The second initiative, CBP's "Centers for Excellence and Expertise," is ready to move from the pilot to the permanent stage. The centers bring together customs personnel who specialize in a specific industry to process entries, protests, post-entry reviews, and other transactions for that industry, rather than having agents at every port of entry process them. (Revenue collection will remain at the ports of entry.) By consolidating industry knowledge and expertise, CBP hopes to ensure the uniform application of procedures and policies in economically important industries.

Currently, CBP runs two such centers: one in Long Beach for the electronics and computer industry and one in New York for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. The agency plans to increase that number to nine.

The third initiative involves expanding customs brokers' involvement in cargo security, including leveraging their relationships with customers to help small and mid-sized companies improve security and trade compliance. A working group comprising representatives of CBP and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) has been examining those proposals as well as such issues as regulations and penalties governing brokers, continuing education, and whether brokers could play a role in pre-certifying their customers for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).

The Latest

More Stories

Trucking industry experiences record-high congestion costs

Trucking industry experiences record-high congestion costs

Congestion on U.S. highways is costing the trucking industry big, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), released today.

The group found that traffic congestion on U.S. highways added $108.8 billion in costs to the trucking industry in 2022, a record high. The information comes from ATRI’s Cost of Congestion study, which is part of the organization’s ongoing highway performance measurement research.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

From pingpong diplomacy to supply chain diplomacy?

There’s a photo from 1971 that John Kent, professor of supply chain management at the University of Arkansas, likes to show. It’s of a shaggy-haired 18-year-old named Glenn Cowan grinning at three-time world table tennis champion Zhuang Zedong, while holding a silk tapestry Zhuang had just given him. Cowan was a member of the U.S. table tennis team who participated in the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships in Nagoya, Japan. Story has it that one morning, he overslept and missed his bus to the tournament and had to hitch a ride with the Chinese national team and met and connected with Zhuang.

Cowan and Zhuang’s interaction led to an invitation for the U.S. team to visit China. At the time, the two countries were just beginning to emerge from a 20-year period of decidedly frosty relations, strict travel bans, and trade restrictions. The highly publicized trip signaled a willingness on both sides to renew relations and launched the term “pingpong diplomacy.”

Keep ReadingShow less
forklift driving through warehouse

Hyster-Yale to expand domestic manufacturing

Hyster-Yale Materials Handling today announced its plans to fulfill the domestic manufacturing requirements of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act for certain portions of its lineup of forklift trucks and container handling equipment.

That means the Greenville, North Carolina-based company now plans to expand its existing American manufacturing with a targeted set of high-capacity models, including electric options, that align with the needs of infrastructure projects subject to BABA requirements. The company’s plans include determining the optimal production location in the United States, strategically expanding sourcing agreements to meet local material requirements, and further developing electric power options for high-capacity equipment.

Keep ReadingShow less
map of truck routes in US

California moves a step closer to requiring EV sales only by 2035

Federal regulators today gave California a green light to tackle the remaining steps to finalize its plan to gradually shift new car sales in the state by 2035 to only zero-emissions models — meaning battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid cars — known as the Advanced Clean Cars II Rule.

In a separate move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also gave its approval for the state to advance its Heavy-Duty Omnibus Rule, which is crafted to significantly reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from new heavy-duty, diesel-powered trucks.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshots for starboard trade software

Canadian startup gains $5.5 million for AI-based global trade platform

A Canadian startup that provides AI-powered logistics solutions has gained $5.5 million in seed funding to support its concept of creating a digital platform for global trade, according to Toronto-based Starboard.

The round was led by Eclipse, with participation from previous backers Garuda Ventures and Everywhere Ventures. The firm says it will use its new backing to expand its engineering team in Toronto and accelerate its AI-driven product development to simplify supply chain complexities.

Keep ReadingShow less