CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP will hold its ACE status conference calls on a weekly basis, rather than daily, as a result of fewer incoming questions, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). As of Nov. 22, the calls will start at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesdays, it said. CBP may make future changes to the frequency of the calls, as needed, it said. Email AskACE@cbp.dhs.gov to request information about the calls.
MIAMI – CBP’s ACE priorities will include implementation of existing legislation and urgent fixes to the truck environment after it completes ACE “core” in January and moves into a more difficult “operations and maintenance” funding environment, said Josephine Baiamante of CBP’s ACE Business Office at the Florida Customs Brokers & Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 14. The agency will also look at ways to work with other Department of Homeland Security agencies through ACE, before turning to a list of other capabilities the trade community has requested.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Foreign-Trade Zone operators could face problems as a result of CBP's proposed regulatory changes to allow for an electronic alternative to the Notice of Arrival that's required for some imports of pesticides and devices regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (see 1609290029), the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones said in comments to CBP (here). The problem is that FTZ entries are usually either Type 06 individual (or regular) or Type 06 weekly estimated entry types, it said. "It appears EPA may intend to require [Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)] NOA information at the time of cargo release in ACE – i.e., on entry," the NAFTZ said. "This point of transmission is too late in the importation process for FTZ filers."
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 7-10 in case they were missed.
MIAMI -- The Food and Drug Administration hopes to publish its final rule on ACE filing requirements by the end of November, said John Verbeten of FDA’s Division of Import Operations at the Florida Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Conference of the Americas on Nov. 14. The final rule, which follows a controversial proposal issued in June (see 1606300020), will be followed “sooner rather than later” by changes to FDA’s ACE Supplemental Guide to implement the new regulatory provisions, he said.
PROVIDENCE -- The addition of more Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) to ACE in coming months is likely to drive a difficult expansion in the data collected by the government, said Amy Magnus, director of customs affairs and compliance at A.N. Deringer, while speaking at the Northeast Cargo Symposium on Nov. 10. Despite significant progress in ACE in 2016, the new PGAs are bound to be a source of anxiety as 2017 approaches, she said. The "most chilling" agencies to be added are Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service "Core" and the Fish and Wildlife Service, she said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
NEW YORK -- The Centers of Excellence and Expertise are working closely with the Office of Regulatory Audit as it increasingly uses surveys to explore potential areas of compliance problems, said Todd Owen, CBP executive assistant commissioner, Office of Field Operations, Nov. 9 at the Apparel Importers Trade and Transportation Conference. Through the CEEs, "we look at all the disciplines that touch a company" so "there is that level of communication between the account managers, the import specialists and the auditors as we're going forward with this approach," he said. CBP is using “informed compliance” letters and questionnaires sent to importers as part of a broader shift toward the use of audit surveys in the agency’s compliance verification activities (see 1608090024).