CBP has issued a CSMS message stating that ACE experienced a nationwide problem impacting the trade. Users were receiving a "page cannot be displayed" message when trying to access ACE via the portal. Trade users could not submit e-Manifests via the ACE portal. EDI was not impacted by this issue. The service was restored at 12:50 p.m. EDT on March 24, 2009. (CBP previously issued CSMS messages announcing the problem and providing an update on the problem.) (CSMS messages, dated 03/24/09, hyperlinked 09-000136, 09-000134, and 09-000132)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the March 25, 2009 ACE Information Seminar provided an update on the current status of the Automated Commercial Environment and the capabilities to be delivered in future releases.
CBP has issued an "Asian Gypsy Moth Maritime Alert" due to U.S. and Canadian authorities' interception of live Asian Gypsy Moth egg masses on an unprecedented number of commercial vessels in 2008. As a result, CBP is seeking to increase collaboration with shipping lines, agents, and associations in order to try to minimize the occurrence of these events. The alert states that it will be necessary for shipping lines to order all vessel crews to conduct intensive vessel inspection to remove (scrape off) and destroy all egg masses prior to entering U.S. and Canadian ports. (See future issue of ITT for details.) (Alert, posted 03/20/09, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/trade/priority_trade/agriculture/agm_alerts.ctt/agm_alerts.doc)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has made available through a recent Webinar1 a March 17, 2009 PowerPoint presentation containing updated information on the Lacey Act Amendments declaration requirement for imported plant and plant products.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will automate versions of the following most commonly used CBP forms with the deployment of ESAR A2.2 (the Initial Entry Summary Types release)1, which is expected in spring 2009:
CBP has issued its weekly tariff rate quota (TRQ) and tariff preference level (TPL) commodity report as of March 16, 2009. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, tobacco, certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (Weekly commodity report available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message announcing the expected implementation date for two rules in the Batch & Block Control Chapter of the ACE ABI CATAIR1 that will need to be adhered to for all messages for six ABI application identifiers, or fatal errors will result.
CBP has posted the statement of Salvador Nieto, CBP Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Intelligence and Operations Coordination, before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism. Nieto testified on the progress and future state of CBP. (Statement, dated 03/12/09, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/congressional_test/nieto_state_cbp.xml)
CBP has issued a CSMS message announcing that it has resolved the problem where trade users were experiencing slow response and errors when creating and submitting e-Manifests. This issue only impacted the ACE Portal. E-manifest could still be submitted via EDI. (CSMS messages, dated 03/12/09, hyperlinked, 09-000124 and 09-000122)
CBP has posted the testimony of Acting Commission Ahern on the Secure Border Initiative before the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Homeland Security. (Testimony, given 03/10/09, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/congressional_test/ahern_sbi.xml)