U.S. Customs and Border Protection official Daniel Baldwin sought to allay persistent concerns from the trade community on the coming transition to eManifest: Rail and Sea (M1), saying the immediate CBP focus will be implementation rather enforcement. Baldwin, CBP's Executive Director of Cargo and Conveyance Security, spoke at the American Association for Exporters and Importers convention June 5. Several industry executives voiced concerns, especially about the treatment of residue within M1.
Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)
The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is the CBP's electronic system through which the international trade community reports imports and exports and the government determines admissibility.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the simplified entry (SE) pilot, begun on May 29, was successful. The successful pilot marks the delivery of the first phase of Cargo Release, known as Simplified Entry, in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), said CBP.
A number of questions remain for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the next locations for the next five Centers for Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), said participants at the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations meeting May 22 in Savannah, Ga. CBP will be establishing industry working groups to be co-chaired by CBP and trade to take on CEE issues, said Brenda Smith, executive director for Trade Policy and Programs in the Office of International Trade at CBP.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is extending the comment period to June 20, 2012 for an existing information collection concerning the Application to use the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with no change to the burden hours or to the information collected.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released the following documents ahead of the May 22, 2012 Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting scheduled for Savannah, Georgia:
Congress should fully support U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the American Association of Exports and Importers said in comments to Congress May 17 ahead of a subcommittee hearing on Customs Trade Modernization, Facilitation and Enforcement. AAEI said its main goal is full funding of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and International Trade Data System. "ACE and ITDS will save the government tens of millions of dollars in the long run," said AAEI President Marianne Rowden. And she said they're "crucial" for long-term survival of the trade community. (See report on the hearing in the Top News section).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection must be aware of the limits of what customs brokers can provide to CBP, though there are several ways brokers can work with CBP to further the importing process, according to written testimony from Darrell Sekin, president of the National Customs Brokers and Forwards Association of America. Sekin is scheduled to testify May 17 before the Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee during a hearing on Supporting Economic Growth and Job Creation through Customs Trade Modernization, Facilitation, and Enforcement.
House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) announced a subcommittee hearing to review customs operations administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The hearing will focus on efforts to enhance economic growth and job creation by facilitating legitimate trade, modernizing customs procedures, and enforcing U.S. Customs and trade laws. The hearing will help the Committee develop customs reauthorization legislation. The hearing will be at 10 a.m. May 17 in 1100 Longworth House Office Building.
The next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) will be on May 22, 2012 at 1 p.m. (EST) in Savannah, Ga. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is seeking comment on the planned agenda items, according to a notice in the Federal Register May 4, 2012. Online registration for webcast and in-person attendance at the COAC meeting is open through May 18, 2012.
On May 29, the optional import component of the web-based Public Health Information System (PHIS) will be partially operational, the Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a letter to importers dated April 18, 2012. On that date, in all U.S. official import inspection establishments handling imports of meat, poultry and egg products, PHIS will: (i) provide for a government-to-government electronic transmission of inspection certificate data as an alternative to the paper certification, beginning with Australia and New Zealand; and (ii) begin transfer of 10 data elements from U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) to FSIS.