CBP to Push for More Forwarder Participation in ACAS Pilot, Says CBP's Baldwin

CBP will be making a concerted effort to recruit freight forwarders to improve understanding of Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS), currently in the pilot stage, said Daniel Baldwin, executive director of cargo and conveyance security at CBP. Baldwin spoke as part of an Aug. 22 Webinar on customs regulation hosted by American Shipper. CBP and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have said they plan to issue a regulation to require advance data submission to ACAS for all international shipments either destined for or transiting through the U.S.

(ACAS allows CBP and TSA to receive advance security filing cargo data as a means to target cargo shipments inbound to the U.S. that may be high risk and require additional physical screening under the appropriate regulatory framework and protocols.)

Freight Forwarders as 'Keys to the Kingdom'

Among the lessons CBP has learned so far through the ACAS pilot is that while the carriers hold a lot of the necessary information, the freight forwarders are who hold the "keys to the kingdom," Baldwin said. Freight forwarders have access to the house level information well in advance, he said. So far there's one freight forwarders involved in ACAS on an operational level and others providing test level data, but over the next several months CBP will be out recruiting freight forwarders to to test and stress test ACAS to see where gaps might be, said Baldwin.

Seven Elements Prior to Lading

From the CBP and TSA perspective, there continues to be an emphasis on not disrupting the business models, said Baldwin. CBP simply wants the seven data elements it seeks prior to lading and doesn't want to make any significant change to the process from the business standpoint, he said. Baldwin says its also been helpful to not have an "arbitrary" deadline of when the data must be supplied to CBP, he said. CBP has said the mandatory ACAS requirements similarly won't have a deadline besides having to be filed before loading the cargo.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12073026 for summary of a recent FAQs on the ACAS program.)