CBP's Smith 'Nervous' about ACE Readiness for February Deadline

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Still lackluster filing rates in the Automated Commercial Environment for cargo release have Brenda Smith, CBP assistant commissioner for the Office of International Trade, already nervous about whether industry will be ready for the Feb. 28 mandatory use date, she said at the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 16. While still optimistic, with around 10 percent of cargo release filings using ACE, she said there's some major concern. "Are we going to make Feb. 28?," she asked. "With these numbers? I don't think so."

Government leadership, including CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske, are willing to press any company executives that are reticent to use ACE, she said. "I'm nervous," but "I know we can make it," she said. While some are actively working with CBP, others are "looking at [their] shoes" when asked about an ACE plan, she said. The Single Window effort offers a chance to "bring the entire government together" and radically improve the way trade is processed in the U.S., she said. It's the CBP equivalent of "sending a man to the moon" and "we are not going to get this opportunity" again in the next 30 years, said Smith. CBP pushed back its previous timeline for ACE adoption earlier this year due to readiness concerns (see 1509010017).

While CBP understands there's investment risks in adopting ACE, waiting until the last minute to use ACE is also risky, she said. "If you're willing to take the risk" that somebody else is going to find and figure out the problems in ACE ahead of February, "then that's your business decision," she said. "But I'll tell you, it's probably not the one that I would make," she said. Congestion with the Automated Broker Interface Client Representatives will also likely be a factor during January and February, Smith said.

Several other government agencies that are involved within ACE are expected to propose related regulatory changes between now and the end of 2016, said Smith. "Those packages will be unique to each of those agencies" and will provide for electronic submission, she said. The agencies may take the opportunity "while they're under the hood" to make some other changes, said Smith. "We know that there are other efforts where the agency has a policy goal that impacts ACE," such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission's plans for e-filing (see 1508200015), which is "technically not an ACE regulation." she said.