Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade news:     

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

  • CBP seized more than $18 million in fake Gibson guitars in largest counterfeit musical instrument seizure on record. 
  • CBP was the only federal agency selected as one of Military.com’s Top 25 Employers for Veterans 2025.  
  • CBP made several updates to Appendix J response codes for Electronic Export Manifest. 
  • Reminder: the annual Customs Broker permit user fee due date for the 2025 calendar year is due Jan. 31, 2025. The permit user fee for the 2025 calendar year is $180.57. 
  • CBP, in collaboration with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), will adjust hours of operation for 38 ports of entry along the U.S. northern border, beginning at midnight, Jan. 6. Full list of changed port operational times here. 
  • CBP’s Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) announced it will hold its next quarterly meeting on Dec. 11. 

Industry News 

  • In a series of posts on Truth Social, President-Elect Donald Trump pledged to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% tariff on imports from China. 
  • Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland and the Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc released a joint statement on President-Elect Trump’s tariff announcement. 
  • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit scheduled oral arguments in HMTX Industries LLC v. United States, the Section 301 case. The arguments will be heard beginning at 10:00 am on January 8, 2025. 

Department of Commerce 

  • New AD/CVD petition filed against sol gel alumina-based ceramic abrasive grains from China. 
  • New AD/CVD petition filed against float glass from China and Malaysia.  

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) 

  • BIS published a final rule imposing new controls on exports, reexports, and transfers (in-country) to Pakistan to address diversion concerns. 

United States Trade Representative (USTR) 

  • USTR announced that Kate Psillos will be acting assistant USTR for the World Trade Organization and multilateral affairs. 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

  • The FDA published a reminder to owners and consignees of certain imported foods that, starting December 1, 2024, mycotoxin analyses must be conducted by accredited laboratories under the Laboratory Accreditation for Analysis of Foods (LAAF) program.  
  • The FDA announced a communications pilot to enhance the medical device recall program. 

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 

  • The CPSC’s Office of General Counsel circulated a staff briefing memorandum recommending approval and publication of a final rule implementing the eFiling proposal.  

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) 

  • FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel announced his resignation from the Commission. He accepted a position as President of the National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE) and the Executive Director of the National Maritime Safety Association (NMSA).  

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

  • USDAs Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) will begin implementing Phase VII of the Lacey Act provisions for certain imported plant and wood products on December 1. The full list of products included in Phase VII can be found here.  

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)  

  • The FMCSA published a notice extending the compliance deadline for certain provisions of the Broker and Freight Forwarder Financial Responsibility Rule from Jan. 16, 2025, to Jan. 16, 2026. 

Department of Justice (DoJ) 

  • Founder of U.S. freight forwarding company pleads guilty to conspiring to illegally export goods from the United States to prohibited Chinese companies. 
  • Indian national charged with conspiring to illegally export U.S. Aviation components to Russia. 

U.S. Court of International Trade (ITC) 

  • The CIT ruled that it has jurisdiction over all denied protests of CBP detention decisions and that CBP has the final authority over all detentions. 

U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) 

  • ITC terminates AD/CVD investigation of aluminum extrusions from China, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. 
  • The USITC voted to continue investigations on thermoformed molded fiber products from China and Vietnam. 

 World Trade Organization (WTO) 

  • WTO Secretariat hosted the first conference on interplay between AI and global trade. 

Congress 

  • Over 35 trade associations sent a letter to Congress urging the prioritization of legislative action to renew the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program before the end of the year. 

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