Brokers Broadsided by Proposed FDA Registration

(American Shipper)

U.S. customs brokers say they were broadsided by proposed legislative provisions in the 2009 Food Safety Enhancement Act that would require them to be registered along with importers in an effort to strengthen the Food and Drug Administration’s oversight of the nation’s food supply.

“These provisions surfaced only last week, were preceded by no consultation with our industry and, we are told, may go to subcommittee mark-up next week,” said Mary Jo Muoio, president of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, in a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman on Thursday.

Muoio noted to the chairman that “the committee’s draft treats customs brokers as if they are importers.”

She further added that the committee ignored existing regulatory and licensing requirements already long in place for the customs broker industry. The draft legislation “attempts to erect a duplicate regulatory framework that distorts the role of the broker,” she said. Read more here.