Customs brokers will be required to undergo continuing education as part of a new rule issue by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
According to CBP, requiring individual customs brokers to stay up to date with recent developments in customs and related laws, as well as international trade and supply chains, will lead to increased trade compliance.
In order to transact customs business on behalf of others, customs brokers must hold a valid customs broker’s license. Under the new education requirements, in order to keep that customs broker’s license in good standing, customs brokers must complete 36 hours of continuing education every three years.
The CBP’s definition of what training qualifies towards the 36 hours is broad. Some of the things listed in the Rule include attending webinars, seminars, conference, symposia, and trade events (virtual or in-person), and attending training sessions either employer-supplied or self-directed. Any training or education activity provided by the CBP itself or another government agency that is relevant to customs will qualify automatically. Other training activities may qualify as well, but must be approved beforehand.
Brokers who have voluntarily suspended their license in accordance with 19 CF 111.52 and those who have not held their license for an entire triennial period are exempt from the requirement.
Brokers must report their educational hours completed when submitting their triennial status reports, starting with the 2027 report. For the triennial report period between Feb. 1, 2024 and Jan. 31, 2027, the number of credits required will be reduced – more details will be announced in a future CBP notice.
Brokers will also have to maintain three years worth of records documenting their compliance with the education requirement.
Read the full Rule, Continuing Education for Licensed Customs Brokers, here.
To stay informed on trade news and other important updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has just released a framework for how customs brokers can prepare for and respond to a worst-case scenario: a cyber attack on your data system.
The guide (PDF version here) recommends the following tips:
- Prevention and Protection
- Have a written cybersecurity policy and/or set of procedures to protect your IT system. Follow these procedures and review them frequently. Your protocols should be based on recognized industry standards, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.
- Use firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware software, and run frequent updates. Regularly test the security of your IT infrastructure using vulnerability scans. Make sure your IT service providers have security measures in place.
- Maintain up-to-date Interconnection Security Agreements (ISA). If you’re directly transmitting data to ACE, submit an up-to-date ISA at least every three years to make sure CBP has accurate information on your systems and broker contacts, which allows for streamlined coordination during a cyber incident.
- Protect your data by frequently backing up data and storing all sensitive and confidential data in an encrypted format
- Keep backup devices physically offsite or in the cloud, and connect backup devices to a separate network
- Maintain originals of records, including records stored in electronic formats, within the customs territory of the U.S. in accordance with 19 CFR 111.
- Develop a plan for notifying stakeholders about a cybersecurity incident, which includes who to notify (CBP and Partner Government Agency [PGA] contacts), when to reach out to importer clients, systems vendors, CBP, and PGA contacts, and what information to share.
- Have a plan for how to manage supply chain risks if you don’t have system access.
- Have a process for screening new business partners and monitoring current partners.
- Have a plan to verify clients’ PGA requirements if you don’t have system access. (ACE reports and similar reporting from PGAs may help.)
- Communication: Notifying stakeholders
- Immediately notify CBP’s Office of Information Technology Security Operations Center (SOC). Be prepared to provide the SOC with details on the time of the incident, involved parties, cause, impact, whether any personally identifiable information was exposed, and any known indicators of compromise. Note: Brokers must report any breach of records relating to customs business no later than 72 hours as required until 19 CFR 111.21(b).
- Community with CBP client representatives and relevant PGAs.
- Reach out to importer clients and coordinate with CBP HQ to align messaging.
- Provide frequent status updates to CBP HQ and your PGA contacts.
- Respond: Maintain the movement of lawful cargo while mitigating risk
CBP may be able to work with brokers to implement downtime procedures in order to maintain the facilitation of lawful trade and the release of cargo while systems are down.
- Contact CBO OFO at headquarters level to request assistance and ensure your broker downtime procedures are compliant with CBP requirements.
- Provide a downtime letter documenting each entry with entry numbers and other required data.
- Be prepared to provide copies of appropriate documents for manual review.
Where appropriate and legally permissible, CBP will also work with the broker to make accommodations for post-release procedures.
- Recover: Reconnect your systems to resume business
- System safety validation: Brokers must provide evidence of system remediation before CBP will authorize reconnection to ACE.
- Retroactive data entry: Brokers must keep a full accounting of entries during cyber incidents and input that data into ACE for CBP processing.
To stay informed on trade news and other important updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
After years of feedback and collaboration with brokers and the trade community, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has published two Final Rule changes to the customer broker regulations in 19 CFR 111 that will impact the customs broker industry. These are “Modernization of the Customs Broker Regulations” (87 FR 63267) and “Elimination of Customs Broker District Permit Fee” (87 FR 63262).
Both Final Rules will come into effect on Dec. 19, 2022.
Key changes in the Final Rules include:
- Transitioning to a national permit framework
- Increasing license application fees and expanding forms of payment
- Revising regulations regarding the broker/client relationship
- Updating the responsible supervision and control oversight framework
- Strengthening cyber security and records requirements
- Modernizing broker reporting and Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) capabilities through the broker account portal
- Changing broker exam and licensing processes
Permits – Transitioning from District to National
Broker districts and district permits are eliminated in favor of a new national framework.
All customs brokers currently operating with only a district permit will be automatically transitioned to a national permit before the Final Rule effective date.
The national permit eliminates permit waivers.
Licensed customs brokers who already hold a national permit will not be affected.
Fees and electronic payment
The license application fee is increased from $200 per application to $300 for individual license applications and $500 for organization license applications.
Certain fees can be submitted electronically through the eCBP portal if a CBP EDI system exists (currently this includes the broker exam fee and application as well as the triennial fee and report).
Broker/Client Relationship
Brokers must execute a customs power of attorney directly with the importer of record or drawback claimant, and not via a freight forwarder or other (unlicensed) third party, to transact customs business for that importer of record or drawback claimant
Brokers must advise the client on the proper corrective actions required in case of noncompliance, an error or an omission on the client’s part, and retain a record of their communication with the client.
Other updates include changes to the responsible supervision and control requirements whereby a brokerage business must employ a certain number of licensed brokers and provide a responsible supervision plan based on various factors, as well as being in compliance with cybersecurity and confidentiality protocols.
Broker Reporting and the Electronic Data Interface (ACE)
The ACE Secure Data Portal will be updated to allow brokers to transmit the following information via the ACE portal account:
- Information on new and terminated employees
- Office of record and recordkeeping address information
- Recordkeeping point of contact information
- Knowledgeable 24/7 point of contact information
Additionally, it will no longer be required to report an employee’s prior employer(s) and prior home address(s).
Broker Exams and License Changes
CBP may now provide exam results to examinees, accept exam appeals, and issue appeal decisions electronically. CBP may also provide alternatives to on-site testing, such as remote proctor testing.
An applicant who has been denied a license must address how deficiencies which resulted in the denial have been remedied when submitting a new application
How will the transition work?
From now until the effective date (Dec. 19, 2022), current district permits will remain active until the effective date of the Final Rules.
CBP will use a broker’s current district permit information to create the national permit.
Each broker transitioned will be notified when their pending national permit has been created and given an opportunity to provide CBP with amended address and permit qualifier information.
(Again, brokers that already have an active national permit are not affected by the 60-day transition activity.)
Read the full background on Customs Broker Modernization Regulations Changes here.
To stay informed on customs updates, stay connected with a customs broker.
The Importer Security Filing (ISF filing) applies to all incoming cargo to the United States by Ocean Vessel. ISF filing was first introduced in 2009 and officially went into effect late in 2010. ISF was put in place for targeting and security purposes only and does not necessarily effect trade enforcement or admissibility of your cargo however US. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will compare data filed with your customs entry to assess risk.
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