CBP posted the agenda and some other documents ahead of the Trade Support Network plenary session April 5-7 (here). Progress on the ACE transition, the Centers for Excellence and Expertise and new customs law are among the major topics listed on the agenda (here).

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.

A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website March 31, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.

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

CBP is extending the comment period to May 4 on an existing information collection for administrative rulings. CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or information collected.

CBP provided some details on the recent changes to the law that prohibits imports of goods made by forced labor in a fact sheet (here). The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 repealed a "consumptive demand" exemption to the ban on imports made by forced labor (see 1602260049). CBP will next "amend the regulations at 19 CFR § 12.42(b), which require certain information pertaining to consumptive demand, in order to comport with the updated law," it said. "CBP depends and acts on information," the agency said in the fact sheet. "CBP encourages anyone with reason to believe that merchandise produced by forced labor is being, or is likely to be imported into the United States, to communicate his or her belief to any U.S. port director or the commissioner of CBP." The agency recently issued its first withhold orders in over a decade related to forced labor (see 1603310034).

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

CBP is requesting comments on an existing information collection for requests for information. CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection without a change to the burden hours or information collected.

CBP made several small changes to federal regulations, it said in notices. Among the changes are the replacement of "CBP" for customs (here and here), a revised section heading (here), some language updates (here and here), and the removal of some introductory text (here).

CBP terminated the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations and established the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), CBP said in a notice (here). The change is a result of the customs reauthorization law (see 1602170074). The repeal of the statute that created the old COAC will be effective on the date new COAC is created by the Homeland Security and Treasury Secretaries, said CBP. The new COAC will be made up of 20 members, including the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy at the Treasury Department and the CBP Commissioner, who will jointly co-chair meetings of the COAC. The Assistant Secretary for Policy at DHS and the Director of ICE will serve as deputy co-chairs of meetings of the COAC, CBP said. The Treasury and DHS Secretaries can transfer the current members of the committee to the new COAC, said CBP. The COAC will also be required to submit annual reports to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees, starting Dec. 31, the agency said.