Diaz Trade Consulting partners with leading experts to bring you compliance seminars catered to your international business.
COMPLIANCE SEMINARS FOR INDIVIDUALS & SMALL BUSINESSES
For those of you keeping up with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), big changes are coming for those in the food industry. We have been keeping you up to date with blogs on updates to FSMA. We have even created an updated website on FDA to help you understand the vast requirements under the FSMA, as well as complying with FDA generally. If you are a foreign manufacturer, processor, packer, storer or holder of food products, you need a U.S. agent, and must register with the FDA – for more information, review www.FDA-USA.com.
The latest news is that the FDA has released the third Edition of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) draft guidance titled “Guidance for Industry: Prior Notice of Imported Food Questions and Answers”. Prior notice is just what it sounds like, “notification to the FDA that an article of food, including food for animals, is being imported or offered for import into the United States in advance of the arrival of the article of food at the U.S. border.”
FDA is seeking comments on the draft guidance and addresses questions received since the publication of the second edition of the guidance in May 2004. The guidance also includes information related to the FSMA, which requires additional information to be provided in a prior notice of imported food submitted to the FDA. The FSMA included a new Prior Notice element, now the FDA requires a person submitting prior notice of […]
If you missed the 2014 CBP Trade Symposium (which was fantastic), this is your opportunity to ask questions about CBP’s new Commissioner, What’s going on with developments with ACE, How CEE’s are going, What the status is of the “Trusted Trader” program, Will GSP be renewed in 2014, and much more!
Trade Day will be held in the main lobby of the Cargo Clearance Center (CCC), located at […]
The American Conference Institute will be having its 8th Import Compliance and Enforcement Conference on June 11, 2013, in Washington DC. The conference will consist of two days full of lectures discussing highly complex U.S. import compliance challenges, along with how to satisfy Canadian and Mexican customs authorities. Unlike previous conferences, this unique event is designed to provide attendees with a comprehensive benchmarking experience, where participants can exchange best practices and lessons learned for 2013 and beyond. Some of the most notable industry experts that will be present are Chrystler, Hershey, Williams-Sonoma, Boeing, IBM, General Electric, Cisco, Tyco and yours truly.
This event is uniquely designed to maximize benchmarking on how to resolve the most complex, pressing import compliance issues affecting the industry. The new program features for 2013 are:
One of the most notable topics discussed will be broker selection and management. I have the privilege to discuss important aspects within […]
Hundreds of people apply every year to become a customs broker. Customs brokers are licensed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The process requires passing a rigorous multiple choice examination, and then passing a background investigation. For many applicants who successfully pass the examination, they are denied a license because the background investigation revealed a poor credit history and rating.
Although the application to be a customs broker is submitted to the local port, the decision letter granting or denying a broker license is issued by Allen Gina, Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Trade, CBP Headquarters in Washington, D.C. A typical denial letter would state:
After careful evaluation of the information obtained from the background investigation, we must deny your application due to your financial history.
The denial letter always cites the CBP regulation at 19 CFR 111.16 – a failure to establish the business integrity and good character of the applicant. Fortunately, the letter also cites 19 CFR 111.17 which provides the right of appeal of the denial of the customs broker license.
The appeal must be filed, in writing, and submitted to Mr. Gina no later than 60 days from the date of the denial letter. The appeal must persuasively argue why the applicant has business integrity and good character. For example, if the applicant went through a divorce, and the former spouse failed to pay certain bills which negatively affected the applicant’s credit history and rating, that is an important fact that must be argued, and documented, in the appeal.
There are […]