Lacey Act

On July 23, CBP will begin requiring filing in ACE of entries and entry summaries for most remaining entry types, including entry types with quota merchandise, it said in a notice set for publication in the Federal Register (here). As of that date, ACE cargo release and entry summary will be mandatory for entry types 02, 07, 12, 21, 22, 31, 32, 34, 38, 61, 62, 63, 69 and 70, said CBP. The legacy Automated Commercial System (ACS) will no longer be available. Entry types 01, 03, 06, 11, 23, 51 and 52 are already set to become mandatory (and in some cases, already have) by that date.

The International Wood Products Association will lead due diligence training for members of the wood trade industry, the association said in a news release (here). "These due diligence tools reflect the legal requirements and the industry’s need for flexibility to adjust their corporate standards and procedures based on the particular specifications of their product, the country of origin and the complexity of their supply chain,” said Cindy Squires, IWPA executive director. The training includes day-long courses around the country, said IWPA. The new program follows "[Lumber Liquidators'] $13.5 million dollar settlement with the Department of Justice on Customs Law and Lacey Act violations" (see 1602020030), said the trade group.

DHL Global Forwarding began using an internal customs brokerage management system designed to work with ACE, said DHL in a news release (here). "The IT system has been ACE-certified and is fully integrated with the company’s current Document Management System and Inland Transportation Management System, and it will also feed information to DHL’s future Unified Reporting System, as well as new Client Portal, to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2016," the company said. DHL worked with Kewill to create the system. “With all the Customs changes taking place in the U.S., we think this new system will be a big benefit to our customers, working flawlessly with ACE to provide them a more expedited service for all their Customs filings,” said Jim Miller, senior director for Customs Brokerage at DHL Global Forwarding. The system is also "equipped with the required Lacey Act programming, as well as functionality to interface with Participating Government Agencies," said DHL.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 4-8 in case they were missed.

Despite some brief “system slowdowns” for ACE users following the March 31 mandatory use dates for most entry summaries and certain PGA entries in ACE, the issues “have been resolved,” said a CBP spokeswoman. CBP "regrets" the issues and has its "technical teams operating 24/7” to increase “monitoring of ACE system performance to address any additional need for faster response times while maintaining the security and integrity of the system,” she said.

Informal entries (type 11) aren't subject to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Lacey Act declaration requirement, CBP said in a CSMS message (here) meant to further clarify the agency's ACE timeline (see 1603250048). That means the Lacey Act data won't be required on type 11 entries or entry summaries in ACE, said CBP. "Electronic entry type 11 entry summaries, without PGA data other than [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]" is now required to be filed in ACE, said CBP. "Electronic entry type 11 entries, without PGA data other than NHTSA, will be required to be filed in ACE on May 28, 2016," it said.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reminded importers and filers that they may still use the agency’s Lacey Act Web Governance System (LAWGS) to submit Lacey Act declarations (here), but will first need to get entry numbers from ACE and not the legacy Automated Commercial System after the March 31 deadline for filing entries with Lacey Act data in ACE. LAWGS filers should use Lacey disclaimer code C to indicate the use of LAWGS for filing the Lacey Act declaration, said APHIS.

CBP is continuing to track stakeholder readiness for ACE transition, and expects its first mandatory use date on March 31 to proceed smoothly, said an agency spokeswoman that same day. The switch from a hard Feb. 28 deadline to phased approach “has alleviated concerns voiced by the trade community regarding readiness by staggering the integration of the PGAs, and allowing more time for all parties to fully transition to ACE,” she said.

After months of hand-wringing and multiple delays, the first ACE mandatory use date on March 31 looks set to go smoothly, said software developers and customs brokers the day before the transition. CBP’s phased implementation approach appears to have paid dividends, with March 31 marking no change at all for many filers who already file the required types of entries and entry summaries in ACE, they said.

CBP opened up a "war room" on March 28 to help industry with the March 31 ACE mandatory use date for several types of entries, said CBP on its website (here). The war room, which is overseen by the ACE Business Office, will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through April 8, said the agency. Anyone interested in reaching the war room will first need to go through a client representative, who "will have direct access to the war room and will escalate your issue, if necessary," CBP said. The war room will only address issues related to transactions mandated in ACE on March 31, which includes entry summaries for entry types 01, 03, 11, 23, 51 and 52 as well as all entries and entry summaries of those entry types with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Lacey Act or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data (see 1603250048). CBP had similar plans for past transition dates (see 1506010042).