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Federal Government Shutdown ENDS

Co Authored by Omar Franco

Last night Congress voted to end the first federal government shutdown in seventeen years and avert a default on U.S. debt. The deal brokered between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) provides government funding through Jan. 15, 2014, at almost the same rate as in FY-2013 after automatic spending cuts. The debt limit would be extended through Feb. 7, 2014, if requested by President Obama. The legislation includes a mechanism to allow Congress to block the suspension through action on a resolution of disapproval. The Health and Human Services Department would be required to ensure that health-insurance exchanges verify the eligibility of all individuals applying for tax credits and cost sharing under the Affordable Care Act. Federal employees would be paid for furlough days resulting from the shutdown and members of Congress would be denied their cost-of-living increase in FY-2014.

The Senate passed the bill first with 81 senators voting in favor and 18 voting against the compromise. The House then passed the legislation 285-144, relying mostly on Democratic votes to pass the bill. Alongside the bill, the Senate agreed to a provision that House and Senate leaders would appoint a conference committee to negotiate a budget agreement by Dec. 13.

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-07T10:05:51-04:00October 17, 2013|Export, FDA Issues, U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|0 Comments

Impact of Government Shutdown

Co Authored by Omar Franco
The impact of the federal government shutdown, which began October 1, 2013, will be deeply felt by importers and exporters alike. Most government services deemed “essential” by the federal agencies will continue, but “non-essential” services will be discontinued until funding is restored.

This early on, there is no obvious resolution of the budget dispute to tie the FY-2014 government funding to Affordable Care Act (ACA) reforms. Both the House and Senate are entrenched in their positions and they are not scheduled to negotiate any time soon. One side will have to capitulate or bipartisan negotiations will have to lead to a resolution. We feel that negotiations will probably not occur this week as both sides need to assess how the markets and voters will respond to the federal government shutdown. Depending on the public response, we will see movement by one side, probably by Republicans, if the reaction is seen as damaging. As of today, the Dow was up, so the market reaction has been subdued. The reaction from voters is still unknown, but if it is subdued as well, the shutdown will be prolonged. We anticipate the shutdown will last through this week at a minimum.

Some lawmakers are considering broadening the debate by including the debt ceiling. Pressure from resolving the government shutdown could also resolve the debt ceiling issue. The longer the shutdown continues, the more likely the resolution will be tied to the debt ceiling. We […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-08T16:13:19-04:00October 2, 2013|Export, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC)|0 Comments

BEWARE – Liquidated Damages WILL be Imposed for 10+2 Violations

For those who thought CBP’s “measured and commonsense” approach for those that weren’t fully complying with the Importer Security Filing (ISF or 10+2) rules would last forever, think again!

Effective, July 9, 2013, CBP advised it would start the liquidated damages phase of the Importer Security Filing (ISF) enforcement process. CBP will now make use of the newly activated cargo holds in the Automated Cargo Environment (ACE) system to address non-compliance with the ISF rule. CBP may also withhold the release or transfer of non-compliant ISF shipments at the terminal until the required ISF is filed. For carrier violations of the vessel stow plan requirement, CBP may refuse to grant a permit to unlade the merchandise. Once the ISF data is received and a security assessment is made, additional enforcement actions including a Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) and/or intrusive exams may be initiated.

Liquidated Damages

CBP may also assess liquidated damages of up to $5,000 per violation for the submission of an inaccurate, incomplete or untimely filing. CBP Dec. 09-26 discusses “Guidelines for the Assessment and Cancellation of Claims for Liquidated Damages for Failure to Comply with the Vessel Stow Plan, Container Status Message, and Importer Security Filing Requirements.” First violations may be mitigated to $1,000-$2,000 – depending on the presence of aggravating or mitigating factors. Some mitigating factors for the failure to file a complete, accurate and timely ISF include evidence of progress in the implementation of ISF during the “flexible enforcement period,” small number of violations compared to number of shipments, Tier […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-08T16:09:00-04:00July 18, 2013|10+2, Enforcement, ISF, Liquidated damages, Pre-compliance, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|0 Comments

OTI’s – July 31 is Deadline to Voice Opinion on FMC’s Proposed Changes

Now’s the time to apply to become a non vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) and/or ocean freight forwarder (OFF). FMC has proposed major changes to its regulations and application requirements for Ocean Transportation Intermediaries (OTIs). Get your application in now to avoid those changes, and/or, learn the changes and spend the time to comment on them while you can. Detailed summaries of those changes are below. July 31, 2013 is the cutoff to have your voice heard!

FMC issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that would significantly amend the regulations governing the licensing, bonding and duties of NVOCCs and ocean freight forwarders. The ANPRM is 117 pages long!! You can review the ANPRM in FMC’s Docket No. 13-05, Amendments to Regulations Governing Ocean Transportation Intermediary Licensing and Financial Responsibility Requirements, and General Duties.

The major changes are:

Qualifying Individual (QI) Changes – Included in the proposed changes are changes to many definitions – this one impacts what it will take to become a QI. The standards will be tougher. For one, the QI’s 3 years of relevant experience will only qualify if one has worked for a licensed, bonded, registered OTI. Experience obtained while the individual was employed by a licensed domestic OTI, a vessel operator, or a registered foreign-based NVOCC would be […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2022-07-08T16:10:39-04:00July 5, 2013|Export, U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)|0 Comments

Export Regulations and Cloud Computing…Beware!

Co Authored by Perry Sofferman

Forrester Research predicts that the global market for cloud computing services will have increased from $40.7 billion dollars in 2011 to approximately $241 billion dollars by 2020. You can see the ZDNet article here. This figure includes the Platforms as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service and Business Process as a Service delivery models. What this information reveals is that while cloud computing is already a significant part of operational strategy for many businesses (as well as governmental agencies), we should expect it to not only grow as a market but to become even more intertwined with the way we conduct business and store data on a daily basis. Consequently, businesses in general and export compliance officers in particular need to be vigilant and make sure that their use of this important technology is consistent with US export regulations.

When using cloud services, the user is uploading data to available servers in the cloud provider’s server facility(ies). The type of data uploaded and the location of the server where that data is stored can potentially trigger export compliance issues for the user. In fact, the ultimate location of the particular server used to hold the user’s data may be unknown to either the user or the cloud provider. Data can be redirected to various servers in different countries in order to properly allocate server space based on fluctuations of usage in different time zones. It should be noted that this is […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2013-05-28T15:31:00-04:00May 28, 2013|Export, Intellectual Property Rights, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|0 Comments

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