Tim Warren

CBP officials are in the very early stages of considering potential benefits for Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program members related to withhold release orders on goods suspected of forced labor production, said Thomas Kendrik, chief, strategic enforcement branch, at CBP. One possible C-TPAT benefit could involve exporting goods that are stopped due to a WRO, he said. "We have discussed with our partners over there at C-TPAT that expedited export could be a benefit," he said. Kendrik and other officials spoke at the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 26 in Phoenix.

PHOENIX – Following the July 23 mandatory use date for most remaining entry types, the Automated Commercial System will no longer be available for entry and entry summary filings even in cases of ACE outages, said Deborah Augustin, executive director of the ACE Business Office at CBP. After all the agencies that use ACS complete the transition to ACE on July 23, CBP will begin to dismantle ACS, she said while speaking at the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 26. "So, ACS then is no longer available as a back up for processing," she said. Field operations and downtime procedures may instead come into effect if there are issues with ACE, she said.

PHOENIX -- Plans for a rulemaking to eliminate hybrid filing as part of the ACE transition remain unsettled, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade in an interview at the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 25. The agency is being "very careful because that would be a significant change in policy," she said. "Right now we're trying to decide, does it make sense," she said. CBP is "still having that internal discussion," but will "need to communicate" a decision in "the fairly near future," Smith said. CBP previously sought input on prohibiting filings that are a combination of electronic and paper filings (see 1510090017), which drew some concerns within industry (see 1511100030).

The Treasury Department published its spring 2016 regulatory agenda for CBP (here), which mentions a new proposed rulemaking to eliminate "hybrid" customs filings. The proposal (here) includes "new regulations that will require filers submitting entry or entry summary data electronically in ACE also to file associated [International Trade Data System] Agency data electronically in ACE, subject to limited exceptions," it said. "This rule will make each discrete entry or entry summary more uniform, as each transaction will be filed entirely in electronic format or entirely in paper format. This will enhance the ability of the U.S. Government to enforce the legal requirements pertaining to those transactions."

Despite a wide range of open questions about new antidumping and countervailing duty evasion enforcement proceedings, CBP fully expects to meet the required deadlines of the customs reauthorization law, said Carrie Owens, chief of CBP’s entry process and duty refund branch. Owens spoke during a panel discussion hosted by the American Bar Association on May 19. The agency is in the process of "furiously drafting" regulations and standard operating procedures related to the implementation of new AD/CVD enforcement measures, required to be implemented by Aug. 23, she said. The agency will also issue an interim final rule that will give some guidance as CBP seeks comments on proposed regulations, Owen said.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its Spring 2016 regulatory agenda for CBP (here). The agenda includes a rulemaking on the modernization of customs broker exam regulations (here). A CBP official recently said a proposal on changes to the exams was in the works (see 1604220023). The exam rulemaking seems to replace a rulemaking listed on the previous agenda on modernizing broker regulations (see 1511200014). Both items have the same Regulatory Identification Number.

The shift to ACE and automation marks a large cultural shift within the government and represents a move toward a 21st century supply chain, said Maria Luisa Boyce, CBP’s senior advisor for trade engagement, during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference on supply chains. The agency needs to keep nimble even as it deals with challenges of infrastructure and existing processes, she said. The agency's focus is continues to evolve, most recently with the customs reauthorization law, she said.

CBP addressed several concerns recently raised by importers and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America about coming rules on imports made by forced or child labor (see 1605090007). There are several paths for importers to defend allegations importing goods subject to withhold release orders, said a CBP spokeswoman in an email. The agency also responded to questions about its use of risk-based targeting for WROs and training for CBP officers at the ports.

CANCUN, Mexico -- The nature of e-commerce includes several features -- high velocity, hyper high volume and low value -- that makes "a recipe for a lot of risks," from a customs perspective, said Rich DiNucci, executive director, Cargo and Conveyance Security, at CBP, while speaking on May 12 at a World Customs Organization conference. The velocity of e-commerce moves "at a rate that's going to demand changes to our processes," he said. The industry is also "highly competitive," which makes collaboration difficult right now, he said. "Every time I think that I have a handle on e-commerce mentally, I realize that I don't," he said.

CANCUN, Mexico -- Despite the work it takes to get there, signed Mutual Recognition Arrangements really mark the beginning of the relationship between customs administrations, said Elizabeth Schmelzinger, Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program Director at CBP, while speaking at the World Customs Organization Authorized Economic Operator conference on May 13. An MRA "must be carried out with confidence and precision be each of the AEO program," she said. "Consistent self-evaluation and mutual evaluation to ensure that we are innovating and that we adhere to the tenets of the security programs of the mutual recognition that we have agreed to."