U.S. Customs and Border Protection has newly posted the recordings and presentation slides for three webinars that are a part of a series of live trade outreach webinars that CBP hosts and subsequently makes available online. The newly posted webinars include: (1) the PIC Business Case ITDS Report on the use of e-commerce data such as global product numbers and electronic product catalogs; (2) running the new Multi-Modal Manifest Reports in ACE; and (3) Rail and Carrier ACE Portal navigation. Topics of previous webinars available for viewing include the role of the broker, account management restructuring, ACE Post Summary Corrections, simplified entry and financial processes, cargo security risks, ACE courtesy notices of liquidation, etc.

On February 28-29, 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) hosted stakeholder meetings to discuss the joint U.S.-Canada "Beyond the Border Action Plan" to gather input regarding trade and commercial cross-border activity and travel. CBP Acting Deputy Commissioner Winkowski stated that the Beyond the Border agreement is about finding "common-sense solutions" to the most complicated problems in trade and travel and about extending national security for both countries, well away from the border. Additionally, CBSA President Luc Portelance stated that his agency is committed to working with their U.S. partners to bring about greater consistency, efficiency and predictability in the management of the shared border. He stated CBSA continues to involve its stakeholders in the implementation of the Beyond the Border Action Plan initiatives to keep the border open to lawful travel and trade.

On February 29, 2012, Acting Assistant Commissioner Kevin McAleenan and other U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials testified before the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security on CBP's security and trade facilitation efforts in fiscal year 2011. According to the officials, in FY 2011, CBP officers at 331 ports of entry inspected 340 million travelers and more than 105.9 million cars, trucks, buses, trains, vessels and aircrafts. CBP also processed nearly $2.3 trillion in trade in FY 2011, a 14 percent increase over FY 2010, and collected over $37 billion in total duties, taxes, and fees, as well as over $355 million in antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD). CBP officers also conducted 24,800 seizures of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations.

The Port of Long Beach has provided an update on the project to replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge, which was built in the 1960s and was not designed to handle the present-day volume of traffic. Four pre-qualified construction firms are expected to compete for the contract to design and build a bridge that will replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge. The $950 million construction project is expected to take five years and generate an average of 4,000 jobs during each year of construction. Bids are due March 2, 2012 and the construction contract will be awarded later in 2012, with full construction beginning in 2013.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the International Trade Administration posted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Web site as of February 29, 2012, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. These messages are available by searching on the listed CBP message number at http://addcvd.cbp.gov.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a matrix of Directorate of Defense Trade Control licensable shipment reporting requirements for the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR). The matrix lists the Department of State (DOS)/DDTC License type, the AES license code, the reported dates elements, and additional edits and validations. CBP has also posted AESTIR Appendix F - License and License Exemption Type Codes (here) and Appendix O - DDTC ITAR Exemption Codes (here), as well as an AES Records Format document (here). A "Summary of Changes" to the June 2004 AES Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) lists the specific DOS, DDTC, ITAR and export license changes specific to each posted document. All listed changes have an effective date of March 30, 2012. DDTC Licensable Shipment Matrix available here. Summary of Changes to AESTIR available here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced that it recently added a new "Trade Transformation" page under its "Trade" section on CBP.gov. The new page provides information on the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE), Simplified Process, Role of the Broker, contact information for these trade transformation initiatives, and provides a link to the ACE: Modernization Information System page. The Simplified Process page provides information on the Simplified Entry (SE) and Simplified Summary initiatives. CBP has recently updated the SE Pilot Frequently Asked Questions (Technical) document on the Simplified Process page to include more information on the upcoming pilot. The new Trade Transformation page is available here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection for the Miami International Airport has issued an Information Bulletin informing the trade of a new Pest Identification and Disposition Report, a local report that will provide the final disposition of quarantine cargo. This report will notify the trade community of the quarantine status of the plant pest (actionable or non-actionable), the final disposition of held cargo, and if the Emergency Action Notification (EAN)/Chain of Custody forms were issued and sent to the carrier. The report will only show final disposition - interceptions pending final determination will not be included in the report. The Bulletin states:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues: