Form 5106 Deployment to Be Delayed if Shutdown Continues Beyond Feb. 1

CBP will delay the deployment of the CBP Form 5106 in the Automated Broker Interface if the partial federal government remains shut down as of Feb. 1, said John Leonard, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, during a Jan. 16 conference call with industry. CBP recently set a concrete deployment date of Feb. 9 for its upcoming ACE Form 5106 input process (see 1811130052) and posted a draft version of the form (see 1812240003). "If we are happily open by Feb. 1, we will proceed with a Feb. 9 deployment for the 5106."

The deployment, whenever it does occur, will apply to both ABI and the ACE portal, said Jim Byram, acting director of the CBP Trade Transformation Office. The deployment will also mean a hard cutover from the old 5106, Leonard said.

The agency also will further delay enforcement of in-bond requirements, said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls. The enforcement of new in-bond rules was set to begin Feb. 6 (see 1808010025), but that implementation won't go forward "for no less than 30 days," he said. Some meetings to discuss in-bond enforcement planned for this month didn't occur due to the shutdown, which is part of the reason for the further delay, he said. The agency will provide more details, "but I can guarantee you" that the enforcement date won't be in February, Swanson said.

The agency also plans to issue a CSMS message about the Jan. 23 sugar quota opening with "specific information that is particular to the shutdown," Leonard said. Meanwhile, Importer Trade Activity reports are not being processed during the shutdown, he said.

CBP is able to spend overtime during the furlough despite some rumors otherwise, said Todd Owen, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Field Operations. There is some uncertainty as to exactly how much CBP is able to spend on overtime, and it has budgeted for the same amount funded in 2018, though the actual funding level may differ, he said. "What we have directed our field managers to do is to be very prudent in their assignment of overtime practices in this period when we simply don't know what the overtime situation looks like. The agency's handling of the migrant caravan on the southern border already depleted much of CBP's overtime reserves, he said. "There is overtime, but we have to be very cautious as to how we're using it."