NCBFAA, AAEI Call for Partial Delay of Feb. 28 ACE Deadline

CBP should adopt a “soft mandated” approach to its Feb. 28 Automated Commercial Environment deadline for cargo release entry types 01, 03 and 11, keeping the Automated Commercial System online as a fallback, and delay the deadline for both cargo release and entry summary for all other entry types until 90 days after programming has been finalized, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in a letter to agency officials dated Feb. 2 (here).

“NCBFAA and its members do not believe that either CBP or the trade is ready to meet the challenges” of the current Feb. 28 mandatory use date, it said. As of Jan. 29, only 26 percent of cargo release entries were being filed in ACE, noted the letter. Though a “remarkable increase” over the 13.5% cargo release adoption rate registered at the end of December, that’s “still far short of the numbers required to meet” the Feb. 28 deadline. Currently, all cargo releases and entry summaries must be filed in ACE on Feb. 28, as well as partner government agency (PGA) data for the Food and Drug Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Lacey Act. CBP did not immediately comment.

Supply chain risks can be reduced by addressing each mode of transportation separately, said the NCBFAA letter. Truck, air and rail’s “just-in-time design, quick transit, rigid infrastructure and exponential storage costs” would be “enormously impacted,” it said. Ocean shipments “can be held to a higher standard and greater volume of cargo release filings,” though still not the current 100 percent mandate, said the trade group. As for PGAs, testing for Lacey Act and NHTSA filing has gone well enough that they should fall under Feb. 28 “soft mandate.” However, FDA filers “must be given additional time” beyond Feb. 28,

For other entry types, including 02, 06, 07, 11, 12, 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 34 and 38, “the NCBFAA recommends that ACE filing not be mandatory until 90 days after programming is complete, CATAIR documents have been finalized, and all related policy documents have been provided to the trade,” it said. In general, “any mandated functionality awaiting policy direction” should “not become required until at least 90 days from issuance” of the relevant guidelines,” said the trade group. ACE entry summary for types 01, 03 and 11, on the other hand, has been available for "ample time," and with the exception of certain type 01 entries with "multiple sold-tos" and type 11 low-value entries should be required on Feb. 28.

CBP should also keep ACS running as a fallback for when filers have issues with ACE, said the NCBFAA; "there is no reasonable safety net other than ACS." Though at some point ACS can be decommissioned, "now is not the time," it said. "Brokers who have been actively engaged in ACE for some time are still being told -- note that we are only 30 days out -- when insurmountable errors or unacceptable delays in release timeliness occur that disrupt the supply chain: 'Cancel the ACE entry and retransmit in ACE.' This is the most compelling indicator that neither the Trade nor Customs is ready for the demands of the February 28 milestone."

Meanwhile, the American Association of Exporters and Importers also called for a delay of at least some ACE functionalities in a letter sent to DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Feb. 3. Given current ACE filing rates and the ongoing stream of programming changes, recently discussed “carve outs” from the deadline for certain functionalities are “excellent suggestions” and a 60-day freeze on programming is “imperative” to keep trade moving, said the letter from AAEI President Marianne Rowden. DHS should direct CBP to release its contingency plans for the Feb. 28 Automated Commercial Environment deadline “as soon as possible,” it said.

AAEI does “not believe that either the trade community or CBP will be ready for a full transition by the end of February,” given the current 25 percent ACE cargo release adoption rate, said the letter. A migration of almost five percent of entries per day would be necessary if the plan is to get to 100 percent by Feb. 28, it said, said Rowden. “This does not seem feasible to us.” Programming changes, the continued addition of new data requirements, and issues revolving around commodities regulated by the Food and Drug Administration further complicate matters, she said. “The system is currently too unstable to absorb the continued changes and the huge increase in volume in such a short time.”

The idea of carve outs was discussed during a meeting of the CBP Advisory Committee of Commercial Operations on Jan. 13 (see 1601140031). Though CBP’s Feb. 28 deadline is necessary to maintain momentum, the agency should consider carve outs delaying implementation for certain types of entries that haven’t been adequately tested, said a COAC subcommittee co-chair.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the AAEI letter.