CBP

Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: CBP urges trade community to adopt electronic export manifest; GXO to close Fort Worth, Texas, facility, lay off 116 workers; FedEx Ground opening distribution center near Houston; and Hisun Motors Corp opens $105M plant in Mexico.

Descartes has acquired NetCHB, a customs filing technology provider that specializes in e-commerce border trade.

A trucker could face prosecution after U.S. border officers say they found nearly 70 pounds of cocaine in a trailer full of watermelons and peppers she was hauling to Canada.

U.S. Customs and the Transportation Security Administration have different programs for preventing explosives from being smuggled onto aircraft in the cargo. A new report recommends ways to further improve security.

The technology upgrades at 12 points of entry along the borders of Canada and Mexico will enable U.S. Customs and Border Protection to inspect rail cargo more quickly and securely, according to CBP.

Agents occasionally find the green coca plant leaves during searches but rarely find green powder cocaine, authorities said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently seized cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine worth more than $2.8 million in separate incidents in Texas, authorities said.

CBP agents seized $60 million worth of meth in two separate incidents involving tractor-trailers at the border in Laredo, Texas.

Individuals who allegedly crossed border illegally were reportedly found climbing moving train and locked in grain hopper.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers recently seized $14 million worth of drugs in several border incidents.

The CBP must establish reasonable suspicion a good is made with forced labor in order to institute a WRO.

For years, exporters and importers have been frustrated by the former U.S. Customs and Border Protection process to withhold their names and addresses in manifest data from the public.

Border agents found 48 stowaways attempting to enter the U.S. illegally at rail crossings at the El Paso, Texas, port of entry.

NCBFAA President Janet Fields has knowledge and skills to lead industry through worst of times, former association President Amy Magnus says.

The duty deferment applies to qualifying importers facing “significant financial hardship,” Customs and Border Protection said.

Members of the Washington, D.C.-based National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America interviewed by American Shipper this week generally praised CBP for permitting the flow of legitimate trade across the continent.

Despite COVID-19 concerns, the Port of Alaska and ocean carriers calling Anchorage insist that ships loaded with containers will continue to arrive on schedule.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it will do its part to keep imports of medical gear flowing efficiently into the country.

Assistant Commissioner Todd Owen said additional reimbursable services agreements help Customs and Border Protection facilitate commerce during COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the world’s largest suppliers of disposable rubber gloves may resume exports to the U.S. after resolving forced labor concerns, Customs and Border Protection said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the ports of entry remain watchful of fraudulent imports that take advantage of Americans during the COVID-19 crisis.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Chicago O’Hare airport international mail facility find more counterfeit coronavirus test kits in parcel shipments from the U.K.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection attributed the cancellation to “the unprecedented situation related to coronavirus (COVID-19) across the country, and the closure of our testing centers.”

“The American public should be aware of bogus home testing kits for sale either online or in informal direct to consumer settings,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

Airforwarders Association Executive Director Brandon Fried said minimizing threat of illegal drugs requires freight forwarders to “know your customer.”

The fake Oral-B toothbrush heads, which arrived at Philadelphia airport from Turkey, were likely made in “unsanitary facilities with substandard materials,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

The test in Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment will be the third between the Fish and Wildlife Service and relevant importers since May 2016.

“In 2020 both governments expect to implement low-cost, high-impact strategies to simplify customs and immigration screening and reduce wait times,” the U.S. State Department said.

The 2019 Protecting America’s Food and Agriculture Act provides funding to help Customs and Border Protection close a shortfall among its agriculture specialist ranks over the next three years.

The National Treasury Employees Union tells House appropriators that Customs and Border Protection requires an additional 1,100 officers and staff to carry out its mission at the nation’s ports of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at International Falls, Minnesota, discovered the illegal product in two 40-foot containers from China.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to roll out a handful of new trade processing functions in the Automated Commercial Environment throughout the year.

The proposed budget includes $2 billion to construct another 82 miles of border wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and more than $160 million to hire and train 750 Border Patrol agents.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the 73% collected-duty increase over last year was mostly the result of ongoing punitive import duties on steel, aluminum and Chinese goods.

Customs brokers and express carriers will take “a more active role in monitoring, detecting and preventing trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

More than 80 trade associations urged the House of Representatives to pass legislation that would close a gap of over 700 Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists in the nation’s ports.

“We are seeing drawback for commodities/products where we did not see it before,” said Michael Cerny, chief legal officer for duty drawback specialist Charter Brokerage.

Customs and Border Protection moved the nationwide tests to early April and October “due to limited availability of testing sites and to ensure the integrity of exam conditions.”

The White House on Dec. 12 announced the private sector technology winners of its Opioid Detection Challenge.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said excluding ocean cargo from the Section 321 pilot program reduced “a substantial number of relevant shipments of potential participants.”

Agriculture shippers and forwarders work with CBP and Census in an effort to eliminate $5,000-$10,000 penalties for minor export data filing errors in the Automated Export System.

While Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment has automated much of the cross-border trade process, the U.S. export manifest process remains paper intensive and error prone.

Shipments of counterfeit driver’s licenses and blank card stock were discovered and seized by Customs and Border Protection officers at Louisville and Memphis mail facilities.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said optical lenses manufacturer Satisloh used false descriptions, tariff classifications and duty rates on its import entries for certain machinery and parts.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the enhancements, to be rolled out over three phases through the rest of this year and 2020, pave the way to retiring legacy truck manifest application.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will use the industry’s comments to refine its Section 321 E-Commerce Data Pilot.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Philadelphia discovered the counterfeit rings potentially valued at $562,000, if genuine, in an express shipment manifested as a “box” valued at $14.

A Miami-based customs broker specializing in perishable imports will benefit from access to agency officers for after-hours inspections through the Reimbursable Services Program.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found the drugs stuffed in duffel bags inside a container load of scrap aluminum and copper en route to Europe from South America.

The NCBFAA, which represents the customs brokerage industry, has become increasingly upset with the management at the Customs and Border Protection-contracted test sites and the way applicants are treated.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the ports keep watch for untreated wood packaging in cargo shipments to prevent the spread of wood-boring pests.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said importers of tobacco from the southeast African country must demonstrate the goods are not in violation for clearance.

Battery Council International, which represents U.S. lead acid battery manufacturers, praised the removal of the potentially unsafe products from the supply chain.

NCBFAA generally supports Customs and Border Protection’s goal to protect against illicit importers but said the agency’s proposed importer verification rule has “grossly miscalculated the cost” to customs brokers.

Customs brokers say a permanent extension of the 2017 Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act would incentivize Customs and Border Protection to automate the tax refund process.

Customs and Border Protection officers said the counterfeit footwear, which was recently seized at the L.A./Long Beach seaport complex, was mis-declared as “napkins.”

“This new module will make it easier for Commerce and CBP to monitor and uphold our trade laws,” Executive Assistant Commissioner Brenda Smith of CBP’s Office of Trade said.

The association, which represents the country’s customs brokers and freight forwarders, seeks better engagement between Customs and Border Protection and industry software vendors.

“Items that likely would have been forfeited, slated for auction or destroyed as part of a final disposition are now going to help those in need,” CBP’s Miami International Airport port director said.

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America will work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to develop the education program.

Customs and Border Protection issued holds on five products from five countries, requiring U.S. importers to re-export those products or provide additional information that they were not made with forced labor.

Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, believes U.S. Customs and Border Protection must step up engagement with his industry to boost its participation.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission does not expect easy answers to the question of how to fairly assess demurrage and detention when Customs and Border Protection holds containers.

Customs and Border Protection officers in the Kentucky port of entry seized counterfeit Cartier bracelets and other jewelry between July and September, resulting in an importer’s arrest.

Customs and Border Protection explores electronic methods to capture data on the estimated 1.8 million package shipments valued at less than $800 arriving in the U.S. each day.

Through the continued development of automated processes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection foresees the day when paper export manifests will no longer be necessary.

The Express Association of America said additional industry participants in Customs and Border Protection’s Section 321 pilot will “enhance” the agency’s capability to target illicit products.

The NCBFAA proposes amending the U.S Bankruptcy Code to allow “subrogation” rights for customs brokers who have paid duties to the U.S. government on behalf of a bankrupt importer.

U.S. Customs officers at Los Angeles International Airport recently confiscated 28 counterfeit National Basketball Association championship rings with a retail value of $560,000, the agency said Sept. 11. The officers […]

Customs and Border Protection announced that it will suspend operations at the two Georgia seaports for Sept. 3-4 with the approach of Hurricane Dorian.

With Hurricane Dorian bearing down, Customs and Border Protections’ 2,500 staff in Florida, as well as its various marine and aircraft assets, are prepared to respond.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it will introduce “in the coming months” a new automated tool for importers and exporters to submit their electronic vessel manifest confidentiality requests to the agency.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaport complex halted the illegal import of Chinese-made firearm parts valued at $378,225.

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America welcomed a recently proposed rule from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that requires customs brokers to have a more complete identification of their importer clients.

Customs and Border Protection and the Treasury Department on August 15 issued a final rule to impose import restrictions on certain archaeological material from Algeria. Effective immediately, the rule amends […]

Customs and Border Protection will conduct a test to examine new functionalities for de minimis entry filings in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) beginning no earlier than September 28, CBP […]

Customs and Border Protection has adjusted the amounts for its merchandise processing fees for fiscal year 2020 to reflect changes due to inflation.

With their vast knowledge of imports, customs brokers see themselves playing an important role in the battle against counterfeit goods.

Customs and Border Protection has updated its seizure mitigation guidelines involving licensed and non-licensed exports for its officers at the nation’s ports of entry.

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection policies “don’t reflect new technology or threats” and are “outdated,” according to an August 6 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). […]

DHS concurred with the four recommendations made by the congressional watchdog agency.

A small business exporter highlighted the benefits she has reaped from de minimis exemptions during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday.

The action directed by USTR follows discovery of harvested timber in the company’s supply chain.

Delays could extend to U.S.-Canada as customs personnel are relocated to deal with immigration on the southern border.

Infrastructure hearings and a controversial waiver have lawmakers taking sides on the Jones Act debate.

Drivers – not brokers – facing penalties of $5,000-$10,000 for violating new e-manifest filing requirements at the border.

Facial recognition will be tested next year on the Peace Bridge that connects the U.S. and Canada as a possible solution to speed up commercial border crossings.