Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)

MINNEAPOLIS -- As the customs drawback claims process moves toward incorporation into the Automated Commercial Environment, Congress will need to act on Customs Reauthorization legislation in order to provide CBP the authority to both simplify and automate the program, said industry officials and a CBP customs official on June 18 at the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) annual conference. Both House and Senate Customs Reauthorization bills include provisions that would spur automation and revise drawback to simplify the process. Those bills, however, have not moved on Capitol Hill in months.

CBP fixed a problem with Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) entry summary processing, CBP said in a CSMS message. Entry summaries that resulted in an ACE system failure response should be resubmitted, CBP said. The agency said earlier on June 19 that its ACE entry summary processing was down (here) and that the issue was being worked as "our highest priority."

MINNEAPOLIS -- The U.S., Mexico and Canada are edging closer to implementing a unified portal to process import and export compliance verifications, as the U.S. strives to meet a 2016 deadline on Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) completion and Canada wraps up work on its own single window, said acting CBP deputy commissioner Kevin McAleenan during June 17 remarks at the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) annual conference. Mexico has already completed work on its single window counterpart and integration among the three countries is “almost visible on the horizon,” said McAleenan.

The House Appropriations Committee approved by bipartisan voice vote on June 11 fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations legislation for the Department of Homeland Security. The measure includes nearly $8.3 billion in funds for CBP border security, immigration, customs, agricultural inspections, regulatory activities related to plant and animal imports, and other fundamental resources and operations. The draft bill mandates that $3.3 million should be derived from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to fund CBP. The draft also directs $810.2 million, of which $446.6 million should remain available through FY16, to be spent on automation. Of the $810.2 million, $140.1 million should be reserved for development of the Automated Commercial Environment. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to consider or release counterpart legislation.

The House Appropriations Committee released its Department of Homeland Security fiscal year 2015 (FY15) funding legislation, which includes a $219.6 billion boost in discretionary appropriations for CBP from FY14 levels (see 14011423). The legislation would authorize $10.78 billion in discretionary appropriations for CBP, of which $3.27 million should come from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The committee is seeking to appropriate $8.3 billion of the total discretionary appropriations for customs, agricultural inspections and other primary agency activities. The bill would also provide $810 million for the CBP operation and improvement of automated systems, including $141 million mandatory appropriations for the Automated Commercial Environment. The Appropriations Committee legislation requires $481 million in funds to remain available through FY19 for the operation, maintenance and repair of land ports of entry. The CBP appropriations are $98.3 million above the President Barack Obama’s FY15 request, according to the committee. The funding would support 23,775 CBP officers, said a committee fact sheet on the bill (here). The bill would also deny Obama's proposal to increase aviation passenger security fees and CBP user fees (see 14031217), it said.

As CBP’s work on Air Cargo Advance Screening enters into its rulemaking phase, trade officials gave their final recommendations on the program during the May 22 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) in Miami. In its final update, the COAC Supply Chain Committee’s ACAS working group urged the alignment of work between CBP and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the program, as well as international harmonization of similar projects.

Members of the trade community recommended that CBP work toward an automated system that would allow greater control over the right to make entry, at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) held May 22 in Miami. That would help address enforcement issues related to identity theft and, combined with additional data requirements and automation for CBP Form 5106, would replace an earlier idea that changes be made to Part 111 broker regulations related to powers of attorney. CBP officials attending the meeting praised the suggestion of an automated system, with an official involved in the development of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) saying similar capabilities are already in place.

The Importer Security Filing (ISF) reports for the month of May 2014 are now available in the Automated Commercial Environment Portal, said CBP in a CSMS message. The reports were expected to be posted to the ACE Portal the week of May 16, CBP said previously (see 14051226).

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) recommends that CBP remove the district permitting requirement and make other changes to broker regulations, said a CBP document posted ahead of the May 22 COAC meeting (here). The COAC recommendations call for new national permit framework that would require customs brokerages to employ an "adequate number of licensed brokers to ensure responsible supervision and control." The potential changes for the permitting regime has sparked some concerns among brokers, even leading to the creation of a "Save a Broker" letter writing campaign (see 14042918).

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker unveiled the next step of the National Export Initiative (NEI) during a May 13 event hosted by Atlantic Media. The initiative aims to help U.S. firms locate customers and identify markets abroad, while helping to finance export orders, said Pritzker. She said the administration would work with trade partners to adopt best practices that facilitate commerce. "For example, we’re holding more workshops for customs officials in Guatemala, Peru and the Dominican Republic," she said. Pritzker also reiterated the administration's commitment to complete the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) by 2016.