Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said during a 1 p.m. ET call with the trade today that its operations in the ports of entry impacted by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) East-Gulf Coast port work stoppage are “open for business.”
Prior to the Oct. 1 strike date, CBP officials stood up an Emergency Operations Command at headquarters in Washington, D.C., which works with the PGAs and provides CBP ports of entry staff, as well as the trade, with routine cargo processing procedure updates pertaining to the impacted East and Gulf Coast ports.
The agency said on today's call that the trade should continue monitoring the agency’s Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) webpage for communications regarding CBP operations and any import-export procedural updates during the strike and after port operations resume. In the immediate interim, CBP referred the trade to these two CSMS messages released by the agency:
CSMS #62464633 - Cargo and Vessel Processing Guidelines due to Possible International Longshoremen’s Association Strike
CSMS #62475241 - Business Resumption for Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Members Following the International Longshoremen’s Association Strike
During the trade call, CBP officials said they will provide updates to these two CSMS messages, such as general order and in-bond entry instructions, as required by the agency and trade.
In addition, CBP officials recommended trade members to email its Office of Trade Relations at tradeevents@cbp.dhs.gov with any questions, input, or concerns.
While some regulatory flexibility will be considered by the agency, CBP expects carriers, customs brokers, freight forwarders, NVOCCs, importers, and exporters to maintain compliance with import and export regulations, such as diversion data for their goods before and during a strike.
