CBP is working on a proposed rule to implement new Section 321 data collection processes piloted in ongoing low-value shipment data and Entry Type 86 tests, Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said in opening remarks at the July 15 meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC). The new processes will incorporate lessons learned from those pilots, and bring the pilots to a close so CBP can open them up to more widespread participation, Morgan said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 11-15 in case they were missed.
CBP is trying to get a handle on a recent boom in Type 86 entries, said Jim Swanson of the Office of Cargo Security and Controls in the CBP Office of Field Operations. The dramatic increase in entries is causing slowdowns in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and threatens to overwhelm the agency's ability to control the flow, he said. Swanson spoke on a May 8 conference call about the bottlenecking entries. With more than 30 million entries and nearing 40 million, “I believe Type 86 has now surpassed the number of formal entries filed in previous years” or is “awful close to it,” he said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP remains cautious in moving toward continuing education requirements for customs brokers as it continues to examine the issues that derailed a similar effort some years ago, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Trade, during a Jan. 29 interview with International Trade Today. CBP recently launched a task force on the subject (see 1910160056), but the agency is considering whether an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) is necessary before issuing an actual proposal, she said.
Seko Logistics bought Air-City, a New York-based freight forwarder and cross-border e-commerce company, Seko said in a news release. The terms of the deal were not released but Seko said it was its largest acquisition ever. “Air-City will give us immediate depth in the growing westbound airfreight and cross-border ecommerce trade for goods going to China,” Seko CEO James Gagne said. “Air-City also gives us strategic airfreight volumes and expertise into China as the rising demand for US goods increases along with a rising middle class in China. We have also added strength to our U.S. import services with the all-important ‘Section 321’ and Type 86 entries for e-commerce capabilities that are so critical for cross-border ecommerce into the United States as well as a network of bonded warehouses in the United States.”
A new working group within the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) is reviewing the risks and benefits around remote and autonomous cargo processing, according to a CBP issue paper released ahead of the Dec. 4 COAC meeting. “Drones, driverless vehicles, captainless ships -- autonomous delivery is already operating within borders to deliver goods to customers,” it said in the paper. The government should examine the risks and opportunities created by the technologies, CBP said. “As CBP embarks on autonomous processes and conditions, it needs to realize impacts and benefits to industry.”
Aurelia Skipwith, the deputy assistant secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks at the Department of the Interior and the nominee for director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, was confirmed as the vice-chair of the Border Interagency Executive Council, CBP said in a Nov. 22 news release. The confirmation occurred at the most recent BIEC quarterly meeting on Nov. 18, CBP said. The BIEC is meant to help with “federal coordination across multiple missions within the customs arena, such as transport security, consumer health and safety.” Efforts within the BIEC include the “Global Business Identifier Initiative, which aims to develop a systematic, accurate and efficient method to identify legal entities, supply chain roles, and foreign addresses for the purpose of enabling One U.S. Government (1USG) to use a 'common language' employed by the trade community to better position the 1USG to focus on high-risk shipments,” CBP said. It is also working on preparedness for the Entry Type 86 for low-value shipments.