26-0821: Friday's "Export/Import Daily Bugle"

1. Today's Federal Register (No items of interest.)

(Source: Today's Federal Register)

2. Future Federal Register (No items of interest.)

(Source: Future Federal Register)

3. CBP Cargo Systems Messages

(Source: DHS/CBP/CSMS)

4. CBP's Office of Trade Regulation Free Webinars in Aug-Sep 2026

(Source: OTR Webinars) (All times Eastern)

5. CBP's Office of Trade's National Commodity Specialist Division Free Webinars in Sep 2026

(Source: OTR Webinars) (All times Eastern)

     These webinars are a part of CBP's Continuing Education program (all times Eastern).

6. Commerce/BIS (Nothing new.)

(Source: Commerce/BIS)

7. State/DDTC (Nothing new.)

(Source: State/DDTC)

8. White House Executive Actions: (No items of interest.)

(Source: The White House)

9. Expeditors News: "ACE Advises Trade to Review ACE Reports for Rejected Refunds"

(Source: Expeditors News) [Excerpts]

     In a Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) bulletin published on August 18, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) advised trade participants to review the ACH Rejected Refunds Report (REV-613) in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). 

     The report can help identify refunds that have been rejected due to missing Automated Clearing House (ACH) enrollment.  . . .

     CSMS # 69570464 and links to instructions can be found HERE.

10. ST&R Trade Report: "White House Targets Transshipment as Customs Crackdown Continues"

(Source: Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report) [Excerpts]. Contact: [email protected], 1-305-894-1035

     A recent White House report focusing on the use of transshipment to avoid U.S. import tariffs and trade remedies offers yet another signal that federal authorities are strengthening customs enforcement efforts and that importers, customs brokers, and others should consider more proactive measures to attenuate related challenges.

     What the Problem Is.  The core argument of the report is that substantial volumes of Chinese-origin goods (between $40 billion and $303 billion annually) are entering the U.S. through third countries, resulting in the loss “tens of billions of dollars” a year in import duty and tariff revenue as well as bigger trade deficits, fewer domestic jobs, and lower economic growth.

     The report asserts the existence of a “global network of production hubs, logistics platforms, free-trade zones, bonded warehouses, processing corridors, and re-export centers” that facilitates illegal transshipment “through both production-side and logistics-side channels.”   . . .

11. WTTL: "Calls for ITAR and EAR Changes to Accelerate Arms Deliveries"

(Source: Washington Tariff & Trade Letter, 20 Aug 2026) [Excerpts of subscription publication]

      The United States should overhaul the export-control treatment of military equipment as part of a broader effort to replenish allied munitions stocks, R. Clarke Cooper, an Atlantic Council distinguished fellow and former US assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, argued Thursday.

     Writing in Atlantic Council’s MENASource, Cooper said global conflict is “expanding faster than the United States’ capacity to manufacture weapons.” He called for moving eligible articles from the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales system into Direct Commercial Sales and reconsidering controls whose original sensitivity justifications no longer apply.

     That reform would require two distinct tracks: Equipment can remain on the US Munitions List and be sold commercially, but the US exporter must register with the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and obtain the appropriate International Traffic in Arms Regulations authorization—typically a DSP-5 license for permanent exports of unclassified hardware.

     Transfers of technical data, defense services or manufacturing know-how needed for Gulf co-production would require additional ITAR approvals, potentially including Technical Assistance or Manufacturing License Agreements.   . . .

     An effective reform would be to transfer less-sensitive items from the ITAR-controlled US Munitions List to the Commerce Control List under the Export Administration Regulations.  . . . [Full article]

12. Export Practitioner: "Customs Records Gain New Significance Under DOJ-DHS Trade Fraud Partnership"

(Source: The Export Practitioner, 20 Aug 2026) [Excerpts of paywall publication.]

     Federal prosecutors are gaining a more direct route to the information importers submit to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.  The Justice Department’s Trade Fraud Task Force, established with the Department of Homeland Security in August 2025, joins DOJ civil and criminal attorneys with CBP and Homeland Security Investigations. Its purpose is to improve information sharing and coordinate cases involving tariff evasion, transshipment, false country-of-origin claims, undervaluation and other customs violations.

     The task force does not give prosecutors new subpoena powers or automatically turn errors on customs forms into criminal cases. It does make it easier for CBP records and agency expertise to be used in False Claims Act investigations, criminal prosecutions and parallel enforcement proceedings.

     When DOJ announced the task force, officials specifically cited plans for closer coordination and information sharing with CBP and HSI. The agencies’ July 2026 Resource Guide to Trade Fraud Enforcement further explains how customs violations may lead to administrative penalties, civil liability or criminal charges.

     Linking Importers to Their Entries:  . . .

     Form 5106 Reviews as Enforcement System:  . . .

     Errors Can Reach Beyond CBP:  . . .

     Review Identity and Entry Records Together:  . . .

[Full article]

13. Pillsbury: "BIS Eases Export Controls on Certain UAVs: Key Takeaways from the August 13 Final Rule"

(Source: Global Trade Blog, 20 Aug 2026) [Excerpts]

* Principal Author: Matthew R. Rabinowitz, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

On August 13, 2026, the Administration took two significant and complementary actions reshaping the regulatory landscape for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to increase U.S. domestic production.

     First, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published a final rule further easing export controls on certain UAVs and related hardware, technology and software under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). 

      This action substantially relaxes EAR controls on ordinary civilian and commercial drones, while retaining controls for military-designed systems, long-range missile-capable UAVs, drones incorporating sensitive equipment, and drones destined for prohibited end users or end uses.  

     This will make it easier for U.S. UAVs to compete abroad and has the potential of lowering their costs to both the domestic and international markets by increasing sales opportunities.

     Second, the President signed a Proclamation pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 imposing tariffs on imports of certain UAVs (referred to as unmanned aircraft systems in the proclamation) and their parts and components. This will increase costs on all foreign-produced UAVs, including from allies.  . . .

     Below, we summarize the key takeaways regarding the amendments to the EAR.   . . . 

     Lowering Export Requirements for Certain UAVs:  . . .
    Military UAVs Not Subject to ITAR:  . . .
    License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization:   . . .
    Military End Use or End User License Requirements:  . . .

This final rule was effective as of August 13, 2026.

     [Full article]

14. ST&R Trade Report: "Court Announces Schedule for Litigation Challenging Section 301 Forced Labor Tariffs"

(Source: Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report) [Excerpts]. Contact: [email protected], 1-305-894-1035

     The Court of International Trade has announced its plan and schedule for managing litigation seeking to overturn the Section 301 tariffs imposed on imports from dozens of countries for failing to prohibit or effectively enforce bans on goods produced with forced labor.
     Several cases opposing these tariffs have been filed at the CIT (see here for a summary of their primary arguments), and more are expected given the two-year statute of limitations that will otherwise apply.
     To facilitate the proceedings of this case the CIT will establish a master case number under which other related cases can be filed, coordinate briefing schedules across the consolidated matters, and set deadlines for motions challenging the legality of the underlying tariff action. . . .

15. Troutman: "Three-Day Suspension of Section 338 Additional Duties on Canadian Imports"

(Source: Troutman Pepper Locke, 21 Aug 2026) [Excerpts]

* Author: Ryan Last, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP

     Key Points:

     On August 18, 2026, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation (the August 18 Proclamation) temporarily suspending the additional ad valorem duties (the Additional Duties) imposed on certain Canadian imports under Proclamations 11046, 11047, and 11048 (collectively, the Underlying Proclamations). 

     Those Underlying Proclamations, each issued on July 20, 2026, imposed Additional Duties of up to 50% under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (Section 338) on certain Canadian goods in response to findings that Canada discriminated against U.S. commerce in the alcoholic beverages, dairy, and motor vehicles sectors (the Covered Sectors). 

     The Additional Duties were originally scheduled to take effect on August 19, 2026.   . . . [Full article]

16. Volkov: "Forced Labor Compliance Just Became a P&L Problem, Part 2: Building a Due Diligence Program"

(Source: Volkov Law, 20 Aug 2026) [Excerpts]

* Principal Author: Michael Volkov, Volkov Law Group LLC

     Part one of this series laid out why forced labor risk has moved from the sustainability report to the balance sheet: tariffs tied directly to a country’s forced labor record, an import presumption in the United States that can freeze finished goods over a single sub-tier component, and a European regulation that can pull products off shelves entirely. 

     Part two addresses the harder question: what does a company actually need to build to protect itself in this environment, and how does it avoid pouring resources into the wrong places while real risk goes unaddressed?

     Stop Grading Suppliers by Zip Code.  The most common mistake in forced labor risk management is treating geography as destiny. Companies build supplier risk scores off country-level indices and sector-level generalizations, on the theory that a supplier in a high-risk country is dangerous and a supplier in a low-risk country is safe. 

     This approach feels rigorous because it is quantifiable, but it produces exactly the wrong picture. A well-run facility in a high-risk country, with strong internal labor controls, credible auditing, and a track record of remediation, can present far less actual danger than a poorly monitored subcontractor in a country nobody would think twice about.

     The more useful question is not where a supplier is located, but how much genuine control that supplier, and the company relying on it, actually has over the labor conditions in its own operations and in the layers beneath it. That is the difference between inherent risk, the baseline exposure created by geography and industry, and residual risk, what is left over after accounting for the real, tested strength of the controls in place. 

     A due diligence program built around residual risk directs attention and resources toward the relationships that actually present danger, rather than treating every supplier in a given country identically. Two examples illustrate how counterintuitive this can be:  . . . [Full article]

17. List of Export/Import Job Openings

(Source: Editor)

19. Bartlett's Unfamiliar Quotations

(Source: Brainy Quotes)

Friday Funnies: Warning Labels

Here are some real label instructions on consumer goods.

20. Today in History (Source: History Channel)

1959: Hawaii becomes 50th state. The modern United States receives its crowning star when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Hawaii (Native spelling: Hawai‘i) into the Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an American flag featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five six-star rows and four five-star rows. The new flag became official July 4, 1960.

21. Do You Need to Update Your Daily Bugle Profile?

(Source: Editor)

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22. Are Your Copies of Export/Import Regulations Current?

(Source: Editor)

The official versions of the following regulations are published annually in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) but are updated as amended in the Federal Register. The latest amendments are listed below.