CBP to Begin Testing Pre-Departure ACE Export Manifest Filing for Rail Cargo

CBP will begin a test of rail cargo manifest filing for exports within the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency said in a notice (here). The voluntary test will require participants to submit export data electronically at least two hours before loading, the agency said. Currently, CBP requires no paper or electronic manifest for rail cargo. The pilot will begin by Oct. 9, and is scheduled to last for two years, said CBP.

Given the lack of manifest requirements currently in place for rail cargo, the pilot will help to test "the feasibility of requiring rail carriers to file export manifest data," as well as the feasibility of requiring rail carriers to submit that data in ACE, said CBP. Paper manifest requirements were already in place for air and ocean cargo when CBP recently began ACE manifest filing pilots for those two modes (see 1507090011 and 1508190007).

Pilot participants must agree "to provide export manifest data electronically at least two hours prior to loading of the cargo onto the train in preparation for departure from the United States or, for empty rail cars, upon assembly of the train." The two hour window will allow CBP to link the rail manifest with Electronic Export Information filed by the U.S. Principal Party in Interest in the Automated Export System, said CBP.

The rail export manifest submission "will be used to target high-risk rail cargo," which CBP will try to do before loading but inspections "could potentially happen at any time before the train departs the United States," said CBP. "Any rail cargo identified as potentially high-risk will receive a hold until required additional information related to the shipment is submitted to clarify non-descriptive, inaccurate, or insufficient information, a physical inspection is performed, or some other appropriate action is taken, as specified by CBP," said the agency. Once cargo is cleared for loading, a release message will be generated and transmitted to the filer, it said.

Transmission of 31 data elements will be required, five of which are conditional. Nine participants will be accepted. Participants must have the technical capability to electronically submit data to CBP and receive response message sets via Cargo-ANSI X12 or Unified XML, and must successfully complete certification testing with their client representative, said CBP. Benefits from participating include fewer post-loading cargo examinations, fewer inspections at the border, more accurate transportation data that could reduce the likelihood of penalties, and preparedness for when ACE rail export manifest requirements become mandatory, said CBP.

(Federal Register 09/09/15)