CBP Posts Fact Sheets on ACE Benefits for Service Providers & Truck Carriers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted two fact sheets on the benefits of its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for service providers and truck carriers, which include the following:

Service Providers. Service providers' ACE Secure Data Portal accounts provide access to service bureaus/service centers, software vendors, port authorities and surety agents. All portal accounts will be able to access important information regarding any ACE updates via their "News" portlet on the “Home” tab. Additional beneficial features for a service provider portal account include the ability to: (1) View and update account information including physical address, mailing address and contacts; (2) View bond information (limited to surety agents with access to a surety account); (3) Access port code and country code reference data; (4) Utilize the “Business Activity Log” to attach additional information (e.g., scanned documents, word files, Excel files, pdf files) to the account as deemed appropriate by CBP or the trade account owner. Fact sheet is available here.

Truck Carriers. Truck Manifest is the only approved method by which truck carriers (or an authorized party transmitting on behalf of a truck carrier) can transmit advance cargo information to CBP prior to the arrival of the truck at a U.S. border crossing. A truck carrier who establishes an ACE portal account will be able to do the following: (1) Use the ACE Portal to file an e-Manifest; (2) Track the status of trips and shipments; (3) request in-bond moves directly from the manifest; (4) Conduct expanded analysis via the ACE reporting tool, allowing ability to monitor carrier activity, in-bonds, and transaction detail; (5) Link a driver's account information to their truck carrier account, thereby eliminating the need to create a duplicate record in each carrier account; (6) and other benefits. Fact sheet is available here.