Part of the Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) job is to regulate international ocean transportation as it relates to U.S. exporters, importers and consumers. One way the FMC fulfills its mission is by protecting the trading community from financial harm through dispute resolution and proceedings. The FMC can hear disputes that arise under the Shipping Act of 1984 as amended by […]
International trade is vital to our economy, so much of the debate in the upcoming Presidential election has surrounded the candidates’ foreign trade policies. President Barack Obama (D) and his challenger, Governor Mitt Romney (R), have each publicly stated support for free trade; however their trade philosophies are very different. President Obama introduced the National Export Initiative (“NEI”) in […]
The United States Department of Agriculture has teamed up with members of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement[1] to enhance shipping and exports in the agricultural market by creating weekly projected equipment and container availability reports designed to increase efficiency and transparency of containers flows. Current carriers including data for the initiative are APL, COSCO, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag Lloyd, Yang […]
Customs recently published an important reminder for all rail and sea carriers regarding the impending transition from the Automated Manifest System (AMS) to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) e-Manifest system. As you’re probably aware, ACE is the gradual consolidation and automation of Customs’ current border processing systems, which is being implemented through the constantly-improving ACE Secure Data Portal. In August […]
The Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) is a long lived and widely used method for converting Colombian pesos into US dollars and vice versa. Boasting the ability to exchange money at a much lower rate, the BMPE evolved from the black market exchange that existed in Colombia for decades and was used by legitimate businessmen and drug dealers alike for […]
Yesterday, the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law hosted a program for its members to hear from and speak directly with CBP Office of Regulations and Rulings, represented by Chief of the Penalties Branch, John Connors. Mr. Connors told the group in attendance (live and via phone conference) that while he is not authorized to discuss recent or pending […]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been in the process of transforming and modernizing its trade initiatives for the 21st century with stated goals of seeking “to improve cargo security while increasing trade competitiveness” by means of “fully aggregating risk management.”[1] This goal seems vague, but essentially, CBP is making efforts to consolidate trade processing at our borders. Some of […]
A long-overdue modification of CBP’s recordkeeping requirements has been announced this week, with an anticipated effective date of January 11, 2013. Current regulations require that all records are to be kept “within the broker district that covers the Customs port to which they relate,” a requirement which severely complicates the recordkeeping process for many companies. The new regulations will eliminate […]
The Federal Maritime Commission revised its Negotiated Rate Arrangement (NRA) regulations to reduce recordkeeping requirements. With immediate effect, the FMC is a) eliminating the requirement for the shipper’s title and address in their written assent to rates, b) eliminating the requirement that the bill of lading include a notice that a shipment is moving pursuant to an NRA; and c) […]
When importing goods into the United States the importer of record (the owner, purchaser, or a licensed Customs broker) must file entry documents with Customs at the port of entry. Among the information contained in the entry documents are the merchandise descriptions and tariff classification information. Many importers rely on their suppliers or Customs […]