The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) applauds the draft framework on Trade Facilitation: US Customs Laws for the 21st Century released today by Senators Cassidy and Cortez Masto.

Headquartered in the Washington DC metro area, the NCBFAA represents more than 1,300 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. The Association’s members handle more than 97% of the entries for goods imported into the United States and are directly involved with the logistics of these goods. Further, members operating as OTIs are involved with approximately 80 to 85% of all exports from the United States. NCBFAA members have daily experience with moving goods in and out of the country and are directly impacted by this legislation.

NCBFAA President Jose “JD” Gonzalez stated, “This heavy but vital lift by Senators Cassidy and Cortez Masto has been a long time in the making, and we are proud to have played a role in helping to shape the vision of the forthcoming legislation. We support their efforts to modernize customs and find a path to a true single window USG while supporting safe and secure trade.” NCBFAA Legislative Committee Chair Leah Ellis added, “The wet pet food example used in the official announcement of the framework is the perfect explanation of why this legislation is so desperately needed- 54 data elements, submitted to three separate partner government agencies, with 21redundant data elements and 16 inconsistent definitions of the same data is just one of dozens of examples of inefficient cargo clearance processes. The US needs to streamline and modernize our entire trade structure to reflect the 21st century reality of trade and be better prepared for the 22nd century.”

The framework, which envisions one true single window USG with 1 cargo release, streamlined data submission, better information sharing between government agencies and the private sector trade community, and more timely responses to trade requests, gets to the very heart of what the US needs to be a modern, safe, and efficient trader with good actors rewarded and bad actors identified and excluded from the US stream of commerce. The NCBFAA will continue to support the stated goals of this legislation as it works its way through Congress. We especially thank Senator Cassidy and his staff for being a tireless champion for the facilitation of trade, and we look forward to perfecting the language of the legislation and supporting these goals.