Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a general notice announcing that the next group, or cluster, of ports to be deployed for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)/National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning the transmission of automated truck manifest data for truck carrier accounts will occur at certain ports in Michigan.

On October 7, 2005 the Senate passed the conference version of H.R. 2360, the fiscal year (FY) 2006 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), etc. The House passed the conference version of H.R. 2360 on October 6, 2005.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site various materials related to presentations made at the September 26-29, 2005 meeting of the Trade Support Network (TSN).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site a notice announcing the opening of the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on cocoa powder as provided for in HTS Chapter 18, Additional U.S. Note (AUSN) 1 for the period October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site the August 2005 issue of U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionModernization Monthly newsletter which discusses, among other things, the first ACE participating government agencies (PGAs) receiving access to the ACE Secure Data Portal.

According to a September 28, 2005 Textile Development Memo issued by the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is about to unveil an interim regulation repealing the multicountry and single textile declaration requirement. According to the article, a formal Federal Register notice is imminent and will, on an interim basis, revise 19 CFR 12.130 to delete the textile declaration requirement. (USA-ITA TDM dated 09/28/05, www.usaita.com.)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a document entitled: ACE Accomplishments: 1999 - September 2005, which lists, in date order, certain accomplishments in the development of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). According to CBP, this list is current as of September 22, 2005.

According to a September 27, 2005 statement by USTR Special Textile Negotiator David Spooner, the third round of talks with the Chinese aimed at reaching agreement on textiles continued the evening of September 27th. The Textile Negotiator stated that "we have made good progress in our discussions over the past couple of days and, although we still have differences, we feel that additional time to work on the issues would be beneficial." (USTR Statement, dated 09/27/05, available at http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Spokesperson_Statements/Statement_of_David_Spooner_USTR_Special_Textile_Negotiator_Regarding_the_Third_Round_of_Textile_Talks_with_the_Chinese_in_Washin.html )

1. Various Postings to CBP's Web Site

• Tecate port to open an hour earlier beginning October 2, 2005. The hours of operation at the Tecate port of entry will shift an hour earlier starting Sunday, October 2, 2005. CBP notes that commercial cargo processing hours remain unchanged at 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. (CBP press release, dated 09/19/05, available at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/09192005_3.xml.)
• Periodic monthly payments and statements information. CBP has posted information to its Web site regarding periodic monthly payments and statements entitled ACE Periodic Monthly Statement Fact Sheet, Periodic Monthly Statement Activation Sheet, Why Should My Company Participate, and What is the Trade Community Saying About ACE. (Information, posted 09/16/05, available at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/periodic_month_pmt_Statement.xml.)
• Power Point presentation on ACE periodic monthly statement. (PowerPoint presentation, dated September 2005, available at (http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/briefings_info/trade_pms_presentation.ctt/trade_pms_presentation.pdf.)
• ACE duty collection topped one billion. CBP has received more than $1 billion dollars in duties and fees through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) since the monthly statement and payment feature were introduced in July 2004. (Press release, dated 09/19/05, available at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newroom/press_releases/09192005_2.xml.)
• CBP to seek feedback from travelers this week. CBP announced that CBP officers would be randomly distributing 40,000 comment cards to travelers at three ports of entry during the week of September 13, 2005 in an effort to seek feedback about the quality of their border crossing experience. (CBP press release, dated 09/13/05, available at www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/press_releases/09132005.xml.)
• Hurricane Rita. CBP has posted phone numbers for CBP employees in Texas affected by Hurricane Rita to report their current situation or receive updates. (CBP notice, dated 09/22/05, available at (www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/highlights/rita_numbers.xml.)

Getting started with EDI for ACE Electronic Truck Manifest. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated its guidance for getting started with electronic data interchange (EDI) for Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Electronic Truck Manifest by providing a new fax number (703) 650-3538 to which letters of intent should be faxed. (CBP notice, dated 09/12/05, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/electronic_truck_manifest_info/getting_started_edi.xml.)