Import – Customs Broker Responsibilities & Transactions

Course Overview

This course provides a detailed understanding of customs clearance locations, key documentation, and procedural steps for import transactions. Participants will learn how brokers initiate and coordinate clearance, manage cargo availability, and ensure compliance with CBP regulations. Topics include import manifests, cargo insurance, in-transit cargo enforcement, and proactive measures importers can take for timely clearance. Ideal for customs brokers, freight forwarders, and trade professionals seeking operational expertise.

Identify the various locations where customs clearance may be accomplished
Explain the function and importance of an arrival notice
Describe the first typical indicator that a customs broker has a new shipment pending for customs clearance
Name two things a customs broker does to initiate a customs clearance transaction
Relate the actions a broker must or may take to coordinate the availability of cargo with the importing carrier
List the next operational steps after a customs broker has accomplished the appropriate type of customs “entry”
Understand the reason a customs broker has an open cargo insurance policy
Explain the extent to which foreign cargo remaining on board a vessel, aircraft, truck or rail car transiting the U.S. en route to a foreign destination is subject to U.S. law and regulations
Describe enforcement actions which CBP may take against in-transit cargo which violates U.S. law or government regulation
Identify minimum time prior-to-departure that a carrier must provide its import manifest information to the CBP, and the means by which it must provide such information
Understand reporting required prior to arrival into the U.S. of food or food additives
Learn why a carrier’s import manifest must be transmitted to the CBP prior to the filing of customs entries covering cargo shipments thereon
Recognize the various optional dispositions of the cargo that an importing carrier transports to the U.S.
Steps an importer can take in advance of shipment to help assure its customs broker has needed information about an incoming shipment in time to make a prompt customs clearance
Ways a customs broker may first learn about a new shipment for customs clearance
The two steps typically included in a customs broker “file opening” procedure
Why a customs broker should open a transaction file as soon as he/she becomes aware of shipment-specific information
Items of information about the importer a customs broker needs to know before starting work on a customs clearance
Documents, or their electronic equivalents, a customs broker always needs in order to prepare a customs entry and/or accomplish a customs clearance
When a certificate of origin typically is needed for U.S. customs clearance