Georgia woman Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois filed a motion for judgment at the Court of International Trade on Oct. 14 contesting four questions on the October 2021 customs broker license exam, claiming that the questions "lacked sufficient information" that would have allowed her to make an "informed choice." Stoute-Francois added that some of the questions "unreasonably called for knowledge" that a test taker "would have no reasonable basis to possess" and that CBP "failed to adequately explain its decision to deny" her credit for some of the questions (Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois v. U.S., CIT # 24-00046).
Licensed Customs Broker
Customs brokers are entities who assist importers in meeting federal requirements governing imports into the United States. Brokers can be private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Customs brokers oversee transactions related to customs entry and admissibility of merchandise, product classification, customs valuation, payment of duties, taxes, or other charges such as refunds, rebates, and duty drawbacks. To obtain a customs broker license, an individual must pass the U.S. Customs Broker License Exam. Customs brokers are not government employees and should not be confused with CBP officials. There are approximately 11,000 active licensed customs brokers in the United States.
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The U.S. again argued that Byungmin Chae's case at the Court of International Trade challenging one question on his customs broker license exam should be dismissed under the doctrine of res judicata, which calls for the dismissal of cases already settled by the court. The Nebraska resident filed suit after his previous case, which he took all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, saw him fall just one question shy of a passing grade on the April 2018 exam (see 2401230031) (Byungmin Chae v. U.S., CIT # 24-00086).
Sandler Travis hired two trade lawyers and an import compliance specialist to expand its trade service offerings, the law firm announced Aug. 23. Lawyer William Marshall will focus on import and supply chain issues while Narges Kahvazadeh will provide legal counsel on export controls and sanctions. Regina Walton, a licensed customs broker, joined the firm as an auditor with a focus on import compliance matters.
The U.S. on July 22 moved the Court of International Trade to dismiss Byungmin Chae's challenge to CBP's rejection of his appeal of a question on the April 2018 customs broker license exam. The Nebraska resident, who ultimately fell one question shy of a passing score, previously challenged his results on the exam, including to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied rehearing (see 2401230031) (Byungmin Chae v. U.S., CIT # 24-00086).
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The U.S. told the Court of International Trade on May 22 that a corrected notice of denial of a customs broker license has been sent to a Georgia woman. The woman is suing the government to contest six questions on the licensing exam after scoring 73.75% on it, just short of the 75% or above she needed to pass (see 2402160040) (Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois v. U.S., CIT # 24-00046).
The following lawsuit was recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Georgia woman Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois filed suit at the Court of International Trade Feb. 16 to contest six questions on the October 2021 customs broker license exam. In her complaint, Stoute-Francois said that after appealing the test results to the Treasury Department, she was left just short of the 75% grade needed to pass the test, failing at 73.75% (Skeeter-Jo Stoute-Francois v. U.S., CIT # 24-00046).