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

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)  

  • CBP released their January 2025 monthly update. Highlights: 
    • Seized 1,977 shipments that contained counterfeit goods. 
    • Stopped 1,986 shipments for suspected use of forced labor. 
    • Identified $71 million in duties and fees owed to the U.S. government. 
  • The next 17th term Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) quarterly public meeting will take place Wednesday, March 5th, 2025, in Atlanta, GA from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. 
  • CBP intercepted a first in the nation pest at the Calexico Port of Entry. 
  • Chicago CBP seized over 161K counterfeit U.S. Forever stamps. 
  • On February 22, CBP will migrate the ACE Portal account user access management functionality to the modernized ACE Portal retiring the legacy ACE Portal.  

Administration  

  • At a press conference, President Donald Trump said that he will “probably” say more about the scope of tariffs on cars on April 2, indicating the tariff could be as high as 25%.  

World Trade Organization (WTO) 

  • WTO members for the first time agreed to undertake a comprehensive review of the WTO’s functions in order to ensure the organization is capable of responding more effectively to the challenges facing the multilateral trading system. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

  • The FDA has updated its tip sheet for importers and customs brokers filing entries of Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) products.  

U.S. Department of Commerce 

  • The U.S. Senate voted 51-45 to confirm Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary.

United States Trade Representative (USTR) 

  • USTR’s Special 301 Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee held a public hearing on February 19, 2025, regarding the 2025 Special 301 review. 

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)  

  • FMC released their January 2025 activity report. Highlights: 
    • Louis E. Sola designated Chairman of the FMC 
    • Chairman Sola testified before the U.S. Senate about the Panama Canal 
    • FMC adjusted its maximum penalties for statutory violations  

Department of Energy  

  • The Department of Energy is delaying the effective date of new conservation standards for walk-in coolers and freezers. The effective date is now March 21. 

U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) 

  • The USITC determined that revoking the existing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on steel racks from China would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. Existing orders on imports of these products from China will remain in place.  

Congress 

  • Representative Bost of Illinois introduced the Fighting Trade Cheats Act, which would allow domestic manufacturers to sue foreign producers for customs fraud.  
  • Senators Lankford, Kelly, and Ciscomani reintroduced the BEST Facilitation Act which would create regional command centers where CBP image technicians can review the images generated by NII scans.  

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