MIAMI -- As countries across the globe move ahead with trade facilitation and modernization initiatives, governments can’t relent in the drive to remove paperwork from all customs and regulatory filing, said several North American and European trade logistics officials at the International Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Council for International Business symposium on Feb. 23. Automation is indispensable in those initiatives, said the officials.
Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)
The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is the CBP's electronic system through which the international trade community reports imports and exports to and from the U.S. and the government determines admissibility.
MIAMI -- There's no indication that importers and brokers will not be prepared for the rapidly approaching Automated Commercial Environment deadlines, said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske in a sit-down interview with International Trade Today on Feb. 24 at the International Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Council for International Business symposium. Kerlikowske said he expects only a “tiny” percentage of traders and brokers will not be ready for the required use of ACE. As of May 1, CBP will require ACE for all electronic manifest filings, while all electronic cargo release and entry summary filings will be required in ACE as of Nov. 1.
The coming transition to the Automated Commercial Environment may prove difficult for all involved, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said in a letter of appreciation to the trade industry released by the agency (here). CBP is making "important progress" as the first of three ACE-related deadlines approaches, he said in the Jan. 29 letter (here). As of May 1, CBP will require ACE for all electronic manifest filing. "We recognize ACE is driving changes to business practices and requires major investment on your part," he said in the letter. "The next year will be challenging for industry and government, as we fully transition to ACE." Kerlikowske encouraged companies not yet using ACE to make the transition "immediately" in order to be prepared for required use of ACE. The agency will require ACE for all electronic cargo released and entry summary filing beginning Nov. 1. Agency officials recently discussed some of the operational challenges related to the transition (see 1502100055).
Expeditors and CBP will work together on a number of coming roundtables to discuss preparation for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), said Expeditors in a press release (here). CBP will hold a number of such roundtables around the country ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline for required use of ACE for entry summary and cargo release information.
CBP is requesting comments by March 20 on an existing information collection for applications to use the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours.
The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) presented a litany of recommendations related to export licensing, at the committee’s Feb. 11 meeting in San Francisco. Many of the recommendations were related to alignment of license requirements and enforcement across ports and agencies. Highlights of the recommendations from COAC are as follows:
CBP needs to ensure the messages Partner Government Agencies send through the Automated Commercial Environment are easy for the trade community to understand by providing adequate detail on which agency is involved and standardizing PGA messaging, said the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations’ 1 U.S. Government at the Border (1USG) subcommittee in recommendations presented to the agency at the Feb. 11 COAC meeting in San Francisco.
The transition of cargo release to the Automated Commercial Environment in November is going to be marked by a transition period that will require some heavy lifting from the trade community, said CBP officials at a National Association Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ) seminar on Feb. 10. While CBP hopes to get everyone to the point where they can exchange electronic messages, it remains to be decided how automation will work at the operational level for entities like terminal operators, truck drivers, and container freight stations that currently stamp paper, said James Swanson, CBP director-cargo security and controls.
CBP posted its draft agenda and other documents (here) for the upcoming Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on Feb. 11, which include extensive recommendations on antidumping and countervailing duty outreach and the automation of export licensing. The draft agenda is (here). A list of draft recommendations is (here).
CBP announced it is testing a new “combined filing” feature in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot, in a notice (here). The new feature will allow eligible importers and brokers to file both entry and Importer Security Filing (ISF) data in a combined transmission to CBP, it said. Testing of combined filing is set to begin Feb. 10, and will run until Nov. 1, 2015, when the ACE Cargo Release pilot is scheduled to end.