CBP Undecided on Whether to Split Up Post-Release ACE Deployments

Some big decisions still need to be made for the delayed post-release ACE deployment that was previously scheduled for Jan. 14 (see 1701110039), said Valerie Neuhart, acting executive director for the CBP Office of Trade Relations. The agency has yet to decide whether it will deploy all of the post-release functions at one time, as was planned, or through multiple deployments, she said. "Is there a decision yet on if it's all together or broken up into some phased approach?" she asked. "Not that I know of," she said. Specific timing also still remains uncertain, though those functionalities will be in place during 2017, she said. Neuhart, who is now in the position previously held by Maria Luisa Boyce (see 1702020063), spoke on Feb. 14 at the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones' Legislative Summit.

Now that much of ACE is implemented, the Border Interagency Executive Council is working on some major policy issues, which previously "took a back seat" to the automation issues, said Bill Scopa, acting director of CBP's Interagency Collaboration Division. Harmonizing manufacturer identification (MID) is one such effort and the BIEC is "creating an outline for how we're going to approach that," he said. It's also working on the "legal and disclosure law issues" involved in allowing partner government agencies (PGAs) to use manifest data for targeting, he said. Kevin McAleenan, now the acting CBP commissioner, mentioned the importance of standardizing unique identifiers last year (see 1612020024).

The BIEC is also working to allow for other agencies to access seizure data, Scopa said. Now, CBP sometimes makes seizures at the request of another agency, but there are some limits to what information CBP can provide about the seizure if that agency wants to make further assessments, he said. There's work now to allow for "visibility" into CBP's seizure system, "so that whenever we put in a statute for the PGA, they will be able to see those seizures," he said. The council is discussing "another big initiative" on "product IDs," he said. Some PGAs use product IDs because the HTS system often doesn't work for them, he said. While it may be a World Customs Organization effort, the BIEC would like to harmonize the product IDs, Scopa said.

Future programming for ACE and the International Trade Data System is somewhat in limbo as funding ran out on Dec. 31, creating a "struggle for us," Scopa said. While some of the PGAs and CBP have programming needs, "the funding has dried up," he said. "For instance, the [Food and Drug Administration] has that new Foreign Supplier Verification Program" and the National Marine Fisheries Service has a traceability rule those agencies would like to see programmed in ITDS, he said. "At this point, it seems like if someone can come up with funds, you might get some programming." The Directorate of Defense Trade Control may have some funding available for its programming, he said.

Possible PGA programming related to the de minimis threshold increase to $800 is also affected, he said. CBP continues to look at a number of options related to the de minimis changes, including "ways to allow it to come in without the payment of duty, basically, on an entry," Scopa said. "That's not final, but it's kind of one of the ideas that's out there," he said. Regulatory changes to require PGA message set information on informal entries are being considered "because the PGAs have no de minimis rules," he said. CBP sought comments last year on how to make sure PGA data requirements are maintained for imports under the de minimis threshold (see 1609270014).