Silver Spring, MD, Sept. 22, 2023 – Taking no chances with what appears to be a likely federal government shutdown starting Oct. 1, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) is leading an effort among 40 other trade associations to develop a comprehensive strategy with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) to ensure that legitimate trade is permitted to efficiently enter and exit our nation’s ports during a shutdown.
Specifically, the trade community requests:
- Private sector access to the CBP “War Room.”
- PGA Presence in the CBP “War Room.”
- CBP HQ, Ports, and Centers must coordinate.
- CBP daily briefings with the private sector.
- Trade must flow both ways.
- All tangential trade functions must be considered essential.
“While we remain hopeful that a government shutdown can still be avoided, the current political environment in Washington is making us take a cautious approach,” said NCBFAA President Jose D. “JD” Gonzalez. “That is why it’s imperative for us to take action with CBP and the PGAs now in order that we can work with these agencies to keep our nation’s trade moving efficiently and securely.”
NCBFAA has already developed a special Government Shutdown webpage on its NCBFAA.org website in which timely informational updates related to trade from CBP and the PGAs for customs broker, freight forwarder and NVOCC members and their customers will be available.
“NCBFAA will keep its members informed with real-time information about what they need to know in order to perform their day-to-day business activities during the shutdown,” said NCBFAA Executive Vice President Megan Montgomery. “It’s all-hands-on-deck in our association.”
Read the entire Sept. 22 Joint Trade Industry Statement to CBP and the PGAs here.
Contact
Megan Montgomery
Executive Vice President
NCBFAA
Email: mmontgomery@ncbfaa.org
Christopher Gillis
Communications Director
NCBFAA
Email: cgillis@ncbfaa.org
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Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, the NCBFAA represents more than 1,200-member companies with 110,000 employees in international trade -the nation’s leading freight forwarders, customs brokers, ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs), NVOCCs and air cargo agents, serving more than 250,000 importers and exporters. Established in 1897 in New York, NCBFAA is the effective national voice of the industry. Through its various committees, counsel and representatives, the Association maintains a close watch over legislative and regulatory issues that affect its members. It keeps them informed of these and other related issues through its weekly Monday Morning eBriefing, and various meetings and conferences throughout the year.
