Washington, DC - In a letter to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) President Geoffrey Powell highlighted six areas of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico to consider when formulating negotiating objectives regarding the agreement's modernization.  President Powell indicated that these comments are preliminary and are limited for now to those matters most directly affecting our Association's members. "We look forward to discussing these and other issues that may arise during the conduct of your negotiations," he wrote. He urged action onduty drawback by recommending that our negotiators adopt a strong position for removal of Article 303 restrictions on the use of substitution drawback and duty deferral for goods exchanged between the U.S., Canada and Mexico in the upcoming negotiations. "Goods exported to Mexico and Canada from other countries with which Mexico and Canada have FTAs receive better treatment for their exports than do U.S. exporters," he wrote, "creating an unfair playing field for U.S. manufacturers, exporters and workers." For many products, NAFTA rules often require a special deferral entry to be filed with duty payment to CBP upon export to Canada or Mexico but not to any other country outside of NAFTA. This deferral entry cannot be filed in ACE and failure to file can result in substantial administrative penalties. "The NAFTA duty deferral provisions hinder U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada, with a consequent negative effect on U.S.-based manufacturing jobs and should be eliminated," President Powell said. Given its effect on trade, especially e-commerce, the NCBFAA considers the de minimis treatment of goods an important topic for NAFTA negotiators to address. Current disparities create advantages for goods produced in a country with a lower de minimis level. Presently, the United States has an $800 level, Mexico is $50 USD (alternatively, $300 USD if conveyed by postal authorities), and Canada is $20 CAN (but set at $15 USD). "The Association believes that the de minimis threshold should be harmonized within the NAFTA countries," he wrote. "Differing levels provide significant advantage to exportations from Canada and Mexico with their lower thresholds and their proximity to the United States." Because the rules of origin have proven to be painfully complex and difficult to administer by trade professionals, the NCBFAA is asking that our trade negotiators be mindful of the need to simply those NAFTA provisions. President Powell also called for enhanced transparency and efficiency by harmonizing and simplifying data sharing and reducing red tape as well as by modernizing and harmonizing customs procedures among the three countries.