CBP and the trade community may still not be ready for ACE drawback and reconciliation by Oct. 29, despite CBP’s recent delay of the deadline, customs lawyer Michael Cerny said during a panel discussion at a National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference in Washington Sept. 12. Both systems have been “barely tested,” and software developers still aren’t ready with programming, said Cerny, who chairs the Trade Support Network’s drawback subcommittee. CBP’s CATAIR requirements and business rules still aren’t set with less than two months before the deadline, a situation reminiscent of the approach to CBP’s original November 2015 deadline for all of ACE, he said.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Sept. 12, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:

CBP’s import scanning should provide more benefits for Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) participants and remain risk-based, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said Sept. 13. “C-TPAT does need some additional work,” he said during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference in Washington. “If you’re a C-TPAT member and you’re valued and you’ve reached those top tiers, we need to enhance the benefits very much there.” Kerlikowske indicated that a risk-based scanning approach would dovetail with providing greater trusted trader benefits, and that such a method would be more realistic and efficient than a congressional mandate requiring all incoming U.S. cargo to be scanned via X-ray, which can be extended every two years with lawmakers’ approval. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson last notified Congress of such an extension in May (see 1605310028).

CBP's temporary copyright protection during the time a copyright owner’s application is pending with the U.S. Copyright Office (see 1608250014) will last nine months, CBP said (here). There's also potential for a single additional 90-day extension, CBP said. The new policy is a result of the customs reauthorization law (see 1602230080).

CBP's East Coast Trade Symposium, scheduled for Oct. 6-7, has been postponed, CBP said in an email. CBP will later provide a new date and location, and said the postponement is due to "unforeseen circumstances."

CBP will seek to update its bi-annual customs broker licensing exam, the agency said in a notice (here). As long discussed (see 1604220023), CBP plans to "modernize" the exam by allowing for automation, increasing the fee and adjusting the dates, it said. The automated exams will be held at private testing centers "equipped with computers programmed to accommodate the examination while blocking web access," and "administered by professional proctors," CBP said.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Sept. 9, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Sept. 8, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.

CBP outlined the changes to come once ACE becomes required for electronic drawback filings, set for Oct. 29, on the agency's website (here). Most of the changes, such as a limit of 5,000 records and the use of the Document Image System, were previously described by CBP (see 1608110026).