FCBF blasts broker license revocation proposal

FCBF blasts broker license revocation proposal The Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association Thursday issued an appeal to its members to oppose a Senate bill that would use the threat of customs broker license revocations as a tool against product safety violations related to imported products.
   The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday marked up and approved the CPSC Reform Act of 2007 (S. 2045), which would give the Consumer Product Safety Commission the authority to designate customs brokers as 'repeat offenders' if the CPSC determined the brokers were involved in processing imports that were later discovered to have product safety violations. The CPSC could then refer the brokers to Customs and Border Protection for revocation of broker licenses.
   The FCBF put out an alert that asked members to raise objections about the 'hastily drafted' section in the bill that would make brokers accountable for import problems. A bulletin to members said the bill originally called for the revocation of import licenses when there is a product safety issue — until representatives from the trade alerted Senate staffers there is no such thing as an import license.
   The FBCF said that showed the fundamental misunderstanding of the import process by those who drafted the bill.
   The FCBF, as well as the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of American, are urging members to contact their senators to express opposition to the bill. Details points that can be raised with senators are available at www.fcbf.com.