COAC Seeking to Align With Trade Enforcement Priorities, Policy Shifts
Changes in how the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee is organizing its working groups, as well as further discussion about the potential incorporation of "real-time modern processes," are coming at a time when CBP appears to be putting greater emphasis on trade enforcement as part of a broader effort to bolster national security.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The COAC is meeting on June 18, and summaries and recommendations from the various working groups are available online (see 2506160010).
While many of the updates for the upcoming June meeting are similar or nearly identical to those released ahead of the March meeting, there are a few differences. For instance, while the Centers of Excellence and Expertise working group of the Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee doesn't specifically name technologies like artificial intelligence, automation or the cloud in its June issue paper, new bullet points added since its March issue paper reflect an emphasis on technology.
"CBP and the COAC strive to improve and enhance communication and develop clear methodologies that better connect the Centers with the trade using real-time modern processes that align with the commercial realities of how a 21st century industry operates," the issue paper said.
The issue paper also said the working group "has been focused on enhanced connectivity for the sharing of information and the optimal transparency of emerging priorities and ... how the Centers are the driving force for trade activities."
The tariffs and their accompanying expectations have also "been a focal point of discussion," the issue paper said.
The ACE 2.0 working group of the Next Generation Facilitation Subcommittee noted that CBP has "pivoted from the term 'ACE 2.0' and uses 'ACE modernization' instead to represent the planned addition of new components and capabilities" related to enhancing security, making ACE scalable to meet demands and positioning ACE to adapt to transformed processes and evolving international trade requirements, according to its June issue paper.
"ACE modernization is a CBP priority, and we are working on a long-term strategy to update and maintain the system through 2033 and beyond," the issue paper said.
The working group also said CBP was seeking to prioritize funding in FY 2025 for ACE modernization, which would include objectives such as tackling overdue infrastructure upgrades, migrating to the cloud and providing security upgrades, facilitating the enforcement of de minimis rules and modifying ACE to "support efficient implementation of executive orders and presidential proclamations."
The issue paper also said that CBP expects to initiate limited production National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) pilots in 2025 and 2026.
The June executive summary of the Intelligent Enforcement Subcommittee removed language about its 2024 activities, which were mentioned in its March executive summary and discuss 2024 recommendations focused on automation of CBP enforcement processes and enhancements to combat the import of counterfeit goods.
However, issues and recommendations from the subcommittee's working groups discuss the potential wider audience of stakeholders seeking information on how to comply with forced labor regulations. The subcommittee's forced labor working group said CBP should pursue clearer language as it updates its guidance on forced labor regulations.
"CBP [should] strive to make its Guidance clear and easier to understand. In the current trade environment, the updated Guidance will be relied upon by importers of many different experience levels. Sophisticated trusted traders as well as non-traditional importers of low value goods will look to CBP to provide them with common sense approaches to compliance that can be understood by even those unfamiliar with the technical language of trade," the working group said in a white paper. The group also said that CBP had approached the working group for recommendations. "Simplicity and real-world examples are gravely needed."
The AD/CVD working group of the intelligent enforcement subcommittee said it recommends changing its name to "Trade Remedies Working Group ... to reflect the broader trade remedy landscape by inclusion of teams that support Section 232, International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and other trade remedy teams, as needed."
The de minimis working group of the secure trade lanes subcommittee said it recommends that CBP update ACE edits and validations to enforce the bond requirement for Type 11 and 12 informal entries, when duties, taxes and fees are not presented at the time of cargo release per a January 2012 cargo systems message related to a memorandum of bond requirements on informal entries.
The wider Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee meanwhile is recommending that "the In-Bond Working Group be reinstated from hiatus to review and finalize pending regulation language and operational processes."
The subcommittee's pipeline working group said CBP is working with the Office of Management and Budget to issue a Federal Register notice for an NCAP pilot for acquiring GIS data for pipeline-borne crude oil. "CBP Cargo and Conveyance Security Directorate personnel have developed Standard Operation Procedures for field implementation of the software, which can be finalized when the OMB 'go live' concurrence is issued," the subcommittee said. Limited production of crude oil for monitoring could occur in FY 2025, it said.