QUESTION: I am looking for guidance on a broker’s duty to the IOR. Is there a part of a regulation that spells this out? I have reviewed Part 111 of 19 CFR 110 and it only details their duty to USCBP. We are the IOR on shipments, using a very large air courier service as […]
QUESTION: Why are Customs broker fees generally a lot less for shipments entering the US from Canada and Mexico than from other foreign countries? ========== Answers: Generally the fees are rated by mode of transport. CA and MX are primarily truck and rail which are a simpler process than ocean/air that is seen from other countries […]
QUESTION: I am looking to understand from the membership who in your company owns the customs broker relationship, who decides which broker(s) to use, and if you tie it to who owns freight forwarder relationships or split it out from transportation? Looking for specific titles/departments/functions please. *************** Answers:The customs broker relationship is owned by Global […]
QUESTION: I’d like to find out what others are doing to measure CHB performance – what KPI’s have you set, and how do you then gather the data/measure? Did you set the expectations or were they mutually agreed upon? I am not unhappy with the service I am receiving, but it would be beneficial to […]
QUESTION: One of the US Customs broker we rarely use was purchased or merged with another customs broker a few months ago. No official notification was given by either broker, the buyer or acquired company, which I thought was very odd. We had an import come in and we asked our broker to clear it. […]
OT Fact Sheet: Origin Certification Requirements QUESTION: I looked on the ICPA database & CROSS regarding the term/definition of “Customs Business”, however not quite I understand. So a month ago I accepted a job with a USA employer as their trade operations person. Naturally I take care of the importer’s (employer) imports by providing entry […]
OT Fact Sheet: Origin Certification Requirements QUESTION: I am interested in the memberships opinion on brokerage; Is it more advantageous to have one broker manage all import activity or two brokers? My company operates a maquila and we have daily US/Mexico cross border activity. Should I consider one broker to manage this specific cross border […]
QUESTION: Can someone please share a customs broker service agreement template? I am looking for a template that outlines communication expectations, service requirements, performance measurements, documentation and recordkeeping requirements, etc. ************* Answers: Most brokers wont agree to have this level of detail included in the service agreement. The type of things you want are typically […]
QUESTION: What information from import purchases, not required by Customs and therefore not available in ACE reports, like part #, purchase order #, etc. do the members ask their customs brokers to key in at the time of entry? How do members get this non-ACE information from brokers? How often do you receive this (monthly, […]
QUESTION: My company is looking into bringing brokerage in house. Before we do that, we would like to get some guidance/feedback from the membership on if other companies have brought brokerage in house? If yes, what were some of the advantages of doing this? What were some lessons learned? %%%%%%%%%% ANSWERS: I am assuming that […]
QUESTION: Our Trade Compliance department is looking to strengthen 3rd party oversight through implementing KPIs and monitoring procedures with our Customs Brokers and agents. Can the trade community provide any examples of what that may look like that can be incorporated within our current SOPs? ============ Answer:Here are some KPIS companies I have worked for in […]
QUESTION: Can someone please share a customs broker service agreement template? I am looking for a template that outlines communication expectations, service requirements, performance measurements, documentation and recordkeeping requirements, etc. ************* Answers:Most brokers wont agree to have this level of detail included in the service agreement. The type of things you want are typically reflected in […]
