NCBFAA prepares members for potential government shitdonw

While we hope that a U.S. government shutdown will be avoided, NCBFAA is taking no chances and asks its members to use the information developed by the association’s Legislative Committee to prepare themselves for what could become a reality, starting with a potential partial closure of federal agencies this Friday, Jan. 19, and followed by the remainder on Friday, Feb. 2.

House and Senate leaders on Jan. 7 had announced an agreement on a spending bill to keep the federal government operating until the end of the fiscal year. Initial reactions, however, were that the $1.66 trillion, long-term deal was in trouble in the House, as far-right Republican members promised to scuttle it. On Sunday, Jan. 14, a second deal was reached to avoid a government shutdown with a short-term continuing resolution. The resolution would fund the government through March 1 for those federal agencies’ funding that expires this Friday:

• Agriculture, rural development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and related agencies
• Energy and water development
• Military construction, Veterans Affairs, and related agencies
• Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies

And March 8, for those agencies’ funding that expires Feb. 2:

• Commerce, Justice, science, and related agencies
• Defense
• Financial services and general government
• Homeland Security
• Interior, environment, and related agencies
• Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and related agencies
• Legislative Branch
• State, foreign operations and related programs

The House and Senate will need to carefully coordinate to ensure that the measure passes both chambers and gets to the President’s desk before the deadline on Friday. Democrats reportedly have assessed the proposed continuing resolution and are expected to be supportive. The measure will come to the floor of the House under a mechanism that will require two-thirds of the House to pass, thus significant support will need to come from both parties to pass the measure.

“The current political environment in Washington is making us take a cautious approach,” said NCBFAA President Jose D. “JD” Gonzalez. “We want each of our member companies to be prepared and use the insightful shutdown information that we have provided through our special webpage. We welcome members to share this information not only with their staff but with their import-export clients.”
The U.S. has been spared a government shutdown twice since late last year, with stopgap legislation passed by Congress on Oct. 1 and Nov. 17.

NCBFAA has maintained this dedicated webpage that contains timely information on what our members need to know during a shutdown, including contacts at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) that have trade-hold authority. We strongly encourage our members to review this information in the days ahead.

On Sept. 22, 2023, NCBFAA also took the lead with 40 other trade associations to develop a comprehensive strategy with CBP and PGAs to ensure that legitimate trade is permitted to efficiently enter and exit our nation’s ports during a shutdown.

In the event of a government shutdown, NCBFAA will provide daily eblast updates to members regarding trade flows and encourage the information to be shared with your importer and exporter clients.