Representatives from the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America are scheduled to meet with the Federal Communications Commission this week to outline some concerns related to the agency's elimination of the FCC's Form 740 filing requirements for imported radio frequency devices (see 1707130045). While the NCBFAA is pleased to see the Form 740 requirements go away, there's some worry over what's seen as new liabilities for customs brokers included in the FCC's order, said Alan Klestadt, a lawyer with Grunfeld Desiderio, who represents the NCBFAA. “The new regulations talk about customs brokers being responsible to validate FCC compliance,” Klestadt said during the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference on Sept. 11. “There isn't a person in this room who's qualified to do that, and I say that without any disrespect. There's just no way.” Naming customs brokers as “one of the parties with responsibility to validate” marks a “huge additional burden,” he said. Klestadt said the NCBFAA is working to push back against "creep" by various agencies looking to use customs brokers to provide information about imports.
Makers of radio frequency devices can still put on traditional Federal Communications Commission logos, even though the regulator last month agreed to allow e-labeling as part of an overhaul of equipment authorization rules (see 1706280065 and 1707130045), an official said July 20. FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and Rashmi Doshi, chief of the FCC Lab, appeared on a Telecommunications Industry Association webinar (here). Doshi said e-labeling isn't a mandate. The order goes to some length to recognize that “the FCC logo is useful, even though we felt that making it mandatory was too much of a burden,” Doshi said. The label is widely recognized outside the U.S., he said. The Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are working with other countries on common approaches to e-labeling, Doshi said. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has scheduled a conference on the topic for next month, he said. “We’ve already talked to Canada on some of the things that they’re doing.” Knapp said the U.S. is at the “forefront” internationally. “When I go to places like Europe or Asia, we’re always trying to inform people about what we’ve done in the hope that they will follow,” Knapp said.
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The Federal Communications Commission will end its requirement to file FCC Form 740 import declarations for radio frequency (RF) devices with CBP at the time of entry, it said in a July 13 press release (here). Elimination of the filing requirement, as expected (see 1706280065), will take effect upon publication of the FCC's rule in the Federal Register. The FCC has waived the requirement to file Form 740 since July 2016 to facilitate the transition to electronic filing in ACE (see 1510200035).
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The Federal Communications Commission will consider at its July 13 meeting permanently ending the Form 740 requirements for importing radio frequency devices, the agency said (here). "This requirement has become increasingly outdated and burdensome in light of current importation and marketing practices, the information otherwise collected by CBP itself, and the wealth of information available online," the FCC said. "The Order would also modify Commission rules to clarify the compliance requirements related to imported devices and to provide additional flexibility in certain cases." The FCC order needs approval by the agency and could still be modified. If approved, it would go into effect following publication in the Federal Register.
CBP is expected to provide additional information soon about the delay to the deployment of post-release capabilities in ACE (see 1706270049), Stuart Schmidt, compliance manager at UPS Supply Chain Solutions, said during a June 27 webinar. "We do not know the new date yet," Schmidt said. "My understanding is that there will be a Federal Register notice that will be published hopefully Friday announcing more information about this." Stuart said the delay is the result of some problems with "false positives" found while testing. "They elected to delay the deployment rather than deploy and install some quick fixes," he said. "So they felt that was the right thing to do and I think I agree with that decision." CBP didn't comment.
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CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering and Technology said it will extend through Sept. 30 suspensions of information collection requirements tied to FCC Form 740 and importation of radio frequency devices. The earlier waivers were to expire June 30, OET said. Section 2.1203 of FCC rules says no RF device can be imported unless the importer or “ultimate consignee” declares the device meets the conditions of entry set forth in agency importation rules, and Section 2.1205 addresses the filing of the declaration, OET said. But the requirement is in question, OET said. A pending proposal (see 1508110024) would “update the rules that govern the evaluation and approval of RF devices,” the OET order said (here). “Among the changes being considered by the Commission are proposals to eliminate the requirement to file FCC Form 740 by amending Section 2.1203 and removing Section 2.1205.”