CEE Working Groups and Trusted Partner Pilots in the Works, Says CBP's Smith at COAC Meeting

A number of questions remain for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the next locations for the next five Centers for Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), said participants at the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations meeting May 22 in Savannah, Ga. CBP will be establishing industry working groups to be co-chaired by CBP and trade to take on CEE issues, said Brenda Smith, executive director for Trade Policy and Programs in the Office of International Trade at CBP.

Other questions include facilitation opportunities and enforcement risks for each industry. CBP would like to get a handle on what those risks are so it can improve risk segmentation and work with other government agencies to take on those issues, Smith said. There's no need to importers to change their ports of entry as CBP will leverage technology to bring the work to the Centers, regardless of where the entry occurs, said a recent CEE FAQ. Importers should continue to use the ports of entry that best meet their individual business needs.The May 15 list of CEE FAQs (which CBP states may be updated again soon) is here.

CBP will also soon announce a test within the CEE concept that will focus on trusted partners and allow center directors to use authority that is given to port directors, said Smith. That will drive uniformity and facilitation and institute efficiencies in import processing, Smith said. The Federal Register notices will come out on a center-by-center basis, starting with the New York and Long Beach, Calif. centers, said Smith. To receive centralized processing benefits at the CEEs you will be asked to volunteer and priority consideration will be given to importers enrolled in the Customs-Trader Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Importer Self Assessment (ISA) programs, said the FAQs

Also important is the development of metrics, Smith said. CBP has developed 14 metrics to measure the value of CEEs, but there's also questions of the value to industry, she said. CBP's Acting Commissioner David Aguilar said the CEEs will help as a learning capability. Aguilar expects the scope of the CEEs today to be different a year from now and five years from now, he said. Everyone should remain focused on the outcome of the CEEs of risk assessment and segmentation, he said. CBP's position now is "measured but assertive," he said.

CBP recently said it is planning to establish a center for Automotive and Aerospace in Detroit and a Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals center in Houston. There are currently two CEEs, one for Electronics in Long Beach, Calif., and one for Pharmaceuticals in New York. (See ITTs Online Archives 12051031 for summary of CBP announcement of additional CEEs)

CBP to Test New Functionalities in Simplified Entry Pilot

CBP is looking to test a number of new functionalities within the simplified entry pilot, starting with a streamlined entry or shipment filing, said Steve Hilsen, director of Trade Policy and Agreements at CBP Office of International Trade. The streamlined entry will separate transportation information from information about the goods, he said. Removing the importer requirement of including transportation information allows importer to transfer shipment information much earlier in the transportation chain, he said. CBP will later marry that information together, but it's hoped the change will also help lessen duplicate filings, he said

Another functionality will be allowing importers to update information up until the point of the conveyance, said Hilsen. CBP will also be trying more descriptive messaging for document requests, he said. On May 27, 2012, CBP will work with simplified entry participants to make the first filing, he said. Over the week after that, CBP will help other participants to file, providing real-time help, etc., he said. Hilsen also said an update to simplified entry frequently asked questions should be available shortly.

The austere budget environment will force some difficult questions on the sequencing of certain programs, said Aguilar. ITDS, is critical, but at what point does one piece become a higher priority than another, he asked. COAC member and Nike customs lawyer Jeff Whalen voiced some disappointment with the Department of Homeland Security's apparent lack of support to seek funding for further deployment of the Automated Commercial Environment and that industry will work to seek additional funding for ACE deployment.

(See ITTs Online Archives 12022319 for summary of the February COAC meeting. See ITT for future COAC meeting coverage.)