NCBFAA answers FMC’s regulatory review request

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association has offered the Federal Maritime Commission myriad suggestions on how the agency rules applying to NVOs and forwarders should be amended or eliminated.    The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) this week responded to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) request for non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVOCC) and freight forwarder industry input recommending changes to outdated or burdensome agency regulations.
   The FMC took the action in response to President Trump’s executive order requiring all federal agencies to review their existing policies and regulations, and make recommendations on which ones to modify or eliminate.
   Edward Greenberg, NCBFAA’s general counsel, said the organization “suggested a significant number of changes to the way NVOCCs and ocean forwarders are regulated.” They include:
     • Exempting NVO rate tariffs from regulation, since the process “exists only to preserve unnecessary jobs for tariff publishers or to provide a basis for unwary NVOCCs to become subject to FMC penalties for noncompliance;”
     • Eliminating restrictions on the content and use of NVO negotiated rate arrangements (NRAs);
     • Rescinding requirement that NVO service arrangements (NSAs) be filed with the FMC to eliminate concerns about potential pitfalls and commission penalties;
     • And modifying or eliminating the FMC’s co-loading regulations.
   In addition, the NCBFAA recommended the elimination of Section 515.41(c), which allows the FMC to determine or restrict how forwarders assess fees to their customers; ending Section 515.42(b) requirement that forwarders provide certification concerning their entitlement to receive “compensation” from vessel-operating common carriers (VOCCs); and amending Section 515.42(a) which unnecessarily requires listing the “underlying shipper” in the bill of lading’s shipper box.
   These recommendations will be considered by the FMC’s newly formed Regulatory Reform Task Force.