Making E-Commerce Safer: CBP Releases New E-Commerce Strategy

On December 1, 2016, we wrote about U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) new E-Commerce and Small Business Branch, which was created to help consumers and merchants safely navigate the complexities associated with the steady rise of global e-commerce. CBP defines e-commerce as high-volume, low-value shipments purchased via electronic means. E-commerce shipments pose the same health, safety, and economic security risks as containerized shipments, but the volume is higher and growing. Additionally, transnational criminal organizations are shipping illicit goods to the U.S. via small packages due to a perceived lower interdiction risk and less severe consequences if the package is interdicted. 

In an effort to combat those risks and have a stronger trade posture in the e-commerce environment, the CBP released its e-commerce strategy. The new e-commerce strategy addresses the growing volume of imported small packages and the challenges it presents for the U.S. economy and security. 

 The strategy includes efforts to educate the public and trade community to ensure they understand their responsibilities as importers to comply with customs regulations. 

What New Challenges Does E-Commerce Pose to the U.S.

What Keeps You Up at Night - Webinars for Compliance Professionals

We took a poll to capture ALL of the topics that you wanted to learn about and decided to host 8 webinars for compliance professionals (FREE for clients) with leading experts on topics ranging from Importing 101/201, Exporting 201, to CTPAT, and FDA Compliance and more!

Check out our complete list of topics, and click on the topic for more information on the specific learning objectives of each webinar and your expert speakers.

Did I mention that clients of Diaz Trade Law and Diaz Trade Consulting join for FREE? Please email info@diaztradelaw.com for your code!

A Smoother Road to Exporting Vehicles: CBP’s New Electronic Validation Export Program

In our previous post “Knowing The Rules Of The Road: Exporting Cars From The U.S.”, we discussed CBP’s laws and regulations that must be followed to successfully export vehicles from the United States to foreign destinations. Failure to do so could result in the imposition of severe penalties — up to $10,000. Additionally, we provided a quick guide on how to export your vehicle form the United States, which provided all the documents required to successfully export your vehicle.

My Freight Forwarder Is Requesting A Shipper’s Letter of Instruction, Now What?

Clients who export often ask us for guidance on whether to complete a Shipper’s Letter of Instruction (SLI). It’s important for our readers to understand the benefits of correctly completing the SLI provided to you by your freight forwarder.

The main benefit of an SLI is federal regulatory compliance! Prior to your goods being exported, Foreign Trade Regulations require a freight forwarder to transmit certain information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on your behalf. To efficiently gather the required authorizations to act on your behalf and the information needed to be transmitted, the trade community developed a SLI.

FDA Takes New Steps in Oversight of Imported Foods

FDA announced that it has recognized the first accreditation body under the voluntary Accredited Third-Party Certification Program created by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The organization being recognized is ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB), an organization jointly owned by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society for Quality (ASQ) based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This organization is being recognized because it met the applicable FDA requirements, validated through application review and on-site assessment.  FDA is recognizing ANAB for a five year term of recognition. (For more information on FDA’s standards for recognition, see: Key Facts about the Accredited Third-Party Certification Program)

FDA Announces Enforcement Discretion Under FSMA

On January 4, 2011, Congress enacted the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), aiming to protect the public by ensuring the U.S. food supply is safe through prevention and enforcement. The FSMA included seven foundational rules, which we summarized in our FSMA: Stay Compliant with DTL’s ‘PICTURE’! blog.

Food Importers – Want to Expedite Your Importations with FDA?

 On January 2, 2018, FDA announced that it expects to begin accepting applications in early 2018 for its Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP), which we first advised you of back in 2015. VQIP is a voluntary, fee-based program for importers that will allow expedited review and importation of human and animal foods into the United States for approved applicants who achieve and maintain a high level of control over the safety and security of their supply chains. Below are the most important VQIP questions and answers from the FDA.

2018 Seminars - We Want to Hear from YOU!

DTL is Planning Our 2018 Seminars AND WANTS YOUR Input!!

We want our 2018 Seminars to answer the import/export questions you have! Please provide your

comments by voting below!

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If you have any specific comments you want to share with us, please email us at info@diaztradelaw.com.

Help Us Celebrate 2017 Successes!

DTL saved clients MILLIONS of dollars in 2017, below we list a summary of some of our compliance successes! Let us assist you in 2018!

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP)

• Assisted importers in filing prior disclosures that were accepted by CBP and/or DOC and avoiding substantial penalties.
• Assisted importers in successfully responding to CBP 28’s and 29’s resulting in close outs, and no further enforcement action by CBP!
• Assisted importers in creating and maintaining pre-compliance programs to evaluate intellectual property rights and pre-report merchandise to CBP resulting in expedited entry into the U.S. with no delays or examinations by CBP.

Your Cheat Sheet to Comply With CBP’s Forced Labor Requirements

 We recently advised our readers of the 12 Questions on Forced Labor the import community must answer in order to comply with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) amended Reasonable Care Checklist. This checklist was released September 2017 to:

1. Comply with the informed compliance requirement of Title VI of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057) (Mod Act) and,