COAC Announces Next Meeting Date, Releases Agenda

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet Sept. 18 remotely and in person in Washington, D.C., starting at 1 p.m. EDT, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due by Sept. 13.

The COAC will hear from the following subcommittees on the topics listed below and then will review, deliberate and formulate recommendations on how to proceed on those topics:

• The Intelligent Enforcement Subcommittee will provide updates on the work completed and topics discussed in its working groups as well as present proposed recommendations for the COAC’s consideration. The Antidumping/Countervailing Duty Working Group will provide updates regarding its work and discussions on importer compliance with AD/CVD requirements. The Intellectual Property Rights Process Modernization Working Group anticipates providing updates concerning progress associated with its recent recommendations regarding the Trade Seminars Mailbox and enhancements to the CBP Petitions Portal specific to IPR enforcement. The Forced Labor Working Group will provide updates on continued discussions regarding trade outreach, clarification of requirements, and previous recommendations.
• The Next Generation Facilitation Subcommittee will provide updates on all its existing working groups. The Broker Modernization Working Group plans to present proposed recommendations for the COAC’s consideration which aim to improve the end-user experience and re-envision the Customs Broker Licensing Exam. The Modernized Entry Processes Working Group will report on the work undertaken regarding Cyber Incident Guidance for Brokers. The Passenger Air Operations Working Group has continued to meet to discuss CBP’s feedback on past recommendations, landing rights issues, and to plan future goals and/or work for the group. The remaining working groups, the Automated Commercial Environment 2.0 Working Group and the Customs Interagency Industry Working Group, were not active this past quarter but will provide a report on topics that each working group will focus on in the coming quarter.
• The Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee will provide updates on its seven active working groups: the Centers Working Group, the Cross-Border Recognition Working Group, the De Minimis Working Group, the Export Modernization Working Group, the FTZ Warehouse Working Group, the Pipeline Working Group, and the Trade Partnership and Engagement Working Group. The Centers Working Group created three sub-groups to focus on specific areas of concerns for the trade community: the Operations Sub-Group, the Structure Sub-Group, and the Communications Sub-Group. The Operations Sub-Group will evaluate the internal structure and operations of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise and their interactions with the ports, and with the trade communities in the areas of fines, penalties, forfeitures, drawback, and broker management. The Structure Sub-Group will evaluate the number of Centers, the branches within the Centers, and workload equity amongst the Centers. This includes consideration of potential structural changes to help with the Centers’ expanded responsibility in admissibility reviews, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and Enforce and Protect Act investigations. This sub-group will also consider how information within Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism may be better leveraged to help the Centers with these reviews. The Communications Sub-Group will focus on IT/ACE solutions, including webpages to facilitate communications for CBP internally and externally with the trade. The Cross-Border Recognition Working Group has continued to discuss best practices at ports of entry on the southern border that facilitate legitimate trade. The De Minimis Working Group has continued discussions on the revised timeframe for submitting Type 86 entries and on potential compliance measurements for de minimis shipments that CBP can communicate to the trade community. The Export Modernization Working Group has continued its work on the Electronic Export Manifest Pilot Program and the effects of progressive filing by the shipper to continuously update export information on successive dates, rather than on a specific date. The Export Modernization Working Group is also working on recommendations regarding the CBP Experience to present to the COAC for consideration. The Drawback Task Force, within the Export Modernization Working Group, has continued discussions around COAC-approved recommendations that are in the process of being implemented from last quarter; is conducting an analysis of program statistics in the areas of streamlining privilege application questions, compliance issues, de minimis amount for drawback claims; and is examining areas to maximize resources. The FTZ/Warehouse Working Group continues to review 19 CFR part 146, expanding the CTPAT program, and modernizing ACE functionality for FTZs, and it anticipates presenting proposed recommendations for the COAC’s consideration at the September public meeting. The Pipeline Working Group has continued discussing the most appropriate commodities for and potential users of Distributed Ledger Technology to engage in the contemplated pilot for tracking pipeline-borne goods. The Trade Partnership and Engagement Working Group has continued its work on the elements of the CTPAT security program and the validation process.