[U.S] Broker Permits, Importer Verification, Air Cargo Security Among New Rules on CBP Agenda

The [U.S.] departments of Homeland Security and the Treasury have issued their semiannual regulatory agendas, which list the following regulations affecting international trade that could be issued within the next year, as well as rulemaking proceedings that have been in process for some time and are not likely to see further progress in the near term. The expected timeframes for issuance of these rules are indicated in parentheses.

Upcoming Regulations

• a U.S. Customs and Border Protection interim final rule to implement a mandatory Air Cargo Advance Screening program for inbound aircraft required to make entry that have commercial cargo aboard (January 2018; previously December 2017)
• a CBP proposed rule amending the regulations pertaining to the importation of goods that violate or are suspected of violating the copyright laws in accordance with title III of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act and certain provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (January 2018; previously September 2017)
• a CBP proposed rule implementing changes to the drawback laws contained in the TFTEA by requiring claims to be filed electronically, extending and standardizing timelines for filing claims, modifying recordkeeping requirements, and establishing a new standard for substituting merchandise based on its tariff classification (January 2018; previously September 2017)
• a CBP final rule to expand the definition of “importer” under the importer security filing rule for certain types of shipments to ensure that the party that has the best access to the required information is the party responsible for filing the ISF (March 2018, previously December 2017; proposed rule issued in July 2016)
• a CBP proposed rule to update and modify the (a)(1)(A) list in the appendix to 19 CFR Part 163 (March 2018; previously October 2017)
• a CBP final rule to give effect to certain liberalized changes to the NAFTA preference rules of origin that have been agreed to by the U.S., Canada and Mexico (March 2018, previously September 2017; proposed rule issued July 2016)...
• a CBP proposed rule to modernize the customs broker regulations, including by allowing national permit holders to conduct customs business in all districts within the U.S. customs territory, removing the requirement to have a district permit in each district where the broker conducts customs business, removing the requirement that brokers maintain physical offices in the districts in which they conduct customs business, and updating the requirements on responsible supervision and control (June 2018; first time published)...

This was excerpted from 19 December 2017 edition of the Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report.