COAC to Meet on Aug. 15 in Seattle, Agenda Released

CBP announced the location and agenda for next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC), Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. (PDT) in Seattle. Online registration for webcast and in-person participation is available through Aug.12, said a notice in the Federal Register July 30.

The COAC will hear from the following subcommittees on the topics listed below and then will review, deliberate, and formulate recommendations on how to proceed on those topics:

• The work of ACE Strategic Communications Working Group and how CBP should proceed in communicating with the trade community as the agency shifts from the Automated Commercial System (ACS) when ACE becomes fully functional.
• The work of the Trade Facilitation Subcommittee: recommendations and resolutions on CBP’s Trade Transformation initiatives, report of findings from the COAC Industry Survey regarding the expected benefits of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise and recommendations on next steps based on Survey results, and conclusions from the Instruments of International Trade (IITs) Residue Work Group on its study of the various concerns regarding establishing a test on the manifesting and entry of ITTs containing residue with no commercial value.

Before COAC takes action on any of these topics, members of the public will have an opportunity to provide oral or written comments. The COAC will also receive an update and discuss the following initiatives and subcommittee topics that were discussed at its May 22 meeting:

• The National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security as it relates to an effort to solicit, consolidate, and provide to DHS sector and stakeholder input on implementation of the National Strategy.
• The Air Cargo Security Subcommittee work on the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) pilot, providing feedback on international outreach efforts and Input on a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
• The Bond Subcommittee work on proposed modifications to the CBP Form 5106 (Importer Identification Input Record); input on single transaction bonds (STBs) centralization; liquidated damages/mitigation guidelines and the use of STBs when additional security is merited. (See ITT's Online Archives 12062524 for summary of possible changes to From 5106. See ITT's Online Archives 12022809 for summary of the February COAC meeting and discussion working with CBP officials on a plan to centralize the STB system and process.)
• The Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Subcommittee work on providing CBP guidance on new tools to be used in the port of entry to help identify counterfeit products, the distribution chain management and serialization pilot projects, and modifications to the CBP recordation database of federally registered trademarks, trade names, and copyrights (See ITT's Online Archives 12042320 for summary of the proposed changes. See ITT's Online Archives 12062605 and 12062726 for summary of comments the proposal.)
• The Anti-Dumping/Countervailing Duties Subcommittee: Updates and observations from the trade community regarding CBP’s recent implementation of policy regarding use of single transaction bonds (STBs) as an enforcement tool, update on CBP’s efforts to work with various industries on obtaining trade intelligence and subcommittee feedback on CBP’s Draft 5 year Anti-Dumping/Countervailing Duties Enforcement Strategy (See ITT's Online Archives 12062233 for summary of a CBP memo on protecting revenue with a STB when a port believes a transaction secured through a continuous bond would jeopardize the revenue due to AD/CVD concerns.)
• The Land Border Security Subcommittee: Updates and observations on the Customs --Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Program Internet survey and the National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security to include CBP Trusted Trader programs and Beyond the Border initiatives.
• The One U.S. Government at the Border Subcommittee: Updates on discussions regarding Trusted Trader Partnership Programs.
• The work of the Role of the Broker Subcommittee: Receive subcommittee feedback on CBP’s efforts to update 19 CFR Part 111 (Broker Regulations). (See ITT's Online Archives 12060826 and 11121224 for summaries of the first Webinar on June 7. See ITT's Online Archives 12062211 for summary of the June 21 Webinar See ITT's Online Archives 12072729 for summary of the July 26 Webinar.)
• The formation of an Export subcommittee; review of subcommittee scope and goals.

The meeting will be at the Jackson Federal Building, 915 2nd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174, in the South Auditorium -- 4th Floor.

Online registration for is available here

(See ITT's Online Archives 12052432 and 12052327 for summaries of the May 22 COAC meeting. See ITT's Online Archives 12052934 for summary of CBP announcement on the August COAC meeting.)