CBP Says Transition to ACE M1 a Success

CBP said it successfully transferred all ocean carriers, rail carriers and Automated Broker Interface software developers to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) e-Manifest: Rail and Sea. ACE now operates as the only CBP-approved electronic data interchange through which rail and sea manifests may be transmitted to the agency. CBP said the transition was completed a full 24 hours prior to the Sept. 29 deadline.

“ACE is part of the CBP modernization process that is essential to facilitating trade and security, speeding the flow of commerce into the country,” said Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar. CBP announced the decommissioning of the legacy system for rail and sea manifests through the Federal Register after the successful completion of the test and the acceptance of ACE as the replacement system for rail and sea manifests. The notice commenced a six-month timeframe in which all users were transitioned to ACE.

ACE, which is hoped to modernize the processes for securing U.S. borders, speeding the flow of legitimate shipments, and targeting illicit goods, has proven to be a difficult program to implement. The program may face funding challenges as the ACE program is currently in the Operations & Maintenance phase with no funding for additional development, CBP has said. It is using some carry-over money from previous years to fund some other near-term deployments, but additional appropriations from congress are likely necessary to continue deployment, the agency has said. ACE "is a key part of CBP’s layered defense to facilitate trade and border security," it said.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12032821 for summary of CBP's plans to require ACE M1 use for e-Manifest filing).