Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)

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

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

CBP on Jan. 27 will deploy updates to the Automated Commercial Environment Protest user interface to automate Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act-related reviews, the agency said. Following the deployment, users will be able to protest a CBP exclusion decision via the ACE Protest tool, CBP said.

DHS published its fall 2023 regulatory agenda for CBP with only one new trade-related action mentioned. The department listed a new proposed rule that could mandate electronic export manifest for all cargo leaving the U.S. by rail.

The Treasury Department published its fall 2023 regulatory agenda for CBP. The agenda includes a new mention of a proposed rule to amend CBP’s regulations on the entry of “certain low-value shipments not exceeding $800 that are eligible for an administrative exemption from duty and tax.”

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

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet remotely Sept. 20, CBP said in a notice. Comments are due in writing by Sept. 15.

The Treasury Department published its spring 2023 regulatory agenda for CBP. There are no mentions of any new trade-related rulemakings, though the agency did move two rules off its agenda to a lower-priority list of planned long-term actions. One of the rules would finalize in the customs regulations the increase of the de minimis level from $200 to $800 under the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. The other would amend CBP's regulations on disclosure of information regarding merchandise bearing suspected counterfeit trademarks by creating "a procedure for the disclosure of information otherwise protected by the Trade Secrets Act to a trademark owner when merchandise bearing suspected counterfeit trademarks has been voluntarily abandoned."

FDA and CBP are actively testing "various scenarios surrounding processing" Port of Entry changes through the Automated Commercial Environment, and a date for deployment is still to be determined, CBP said in a message July 6. Previously CBP had said the date for deployment would be no sooner than June 17 (see 2305220034). Both the FDA and CBP are encouraging the trade to continue testing in CERT, and the date for implementation is still unknown as testing continues. CBP said it will provide further updates when the planned deployment date is known.

The suspension of Section 232 duties on steel articles from Ukraine has been extended for another year and now includes steel from the EU melted and poured in Ukraine, CBP said as part of its guidance on June 5. The suspension is now set to expire on June 1, 2024. Importers must report the certificate of origin for Ukrainian steel or steel articles into the CBP’s Document Imaging System (DIS), the announcement said. If steel or steel deratives are not accompanied by certificates of origin from Ukraine, those items will be subject to the "25 percent ad valorem duty," the guidance said. Importers also must submit the steel mill certificate required by 19 CFR 141.89, the guidance said. The suspension of Section 232 duties is available in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the guidance said. The extension of the suspension was announced on May 31. The suspension was first announced on May 27, 2022, (see 2205310061).