The Consumer Product Safety Commission is ending its joint “alpha” pilot with CBP to test filing of its partner government agency (PGA) message set in ACE, it said (here). The pilot, which gave filers the option to either transmit PGA message set data elements individually or transmit a single unique identifier referencing a registry, was successful, it said. “Participants primarily chose to file data using the Product Registry and Reference PGA Message Set, although we anticipate that several participants will file using the Full PGA Message Set before the pilot concludes,” CPSC said. CPSC will now turn to reviewing lessons learned and developing its “beta” phase pilot. A CPSC official has said the “beta” pilot will open in 2017 to about 100 participants (see 1606090020). The “alpha” pilot will end on Dec. 31. After that date, filers will no longer be allowed to transmit CPSC data in ACE, and “CBP will undertake efforts to reject or prevent” such filing.

CBP issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:​

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Nov. 14-20 in case they were missed.

The prospect of punitive tariffs and a renegotiated NAFTA could significantly impact customs brokers, but some could see benefits from U.S. leverage in any NAFTA withdrawal talks and potential port investments under the Trump administration, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Legislative Representative Jon Kent said during a Nov. 22 webinar. The required six-month window between submitting a withdrawal notice to NAFTA members and actual departure could give Trump an advantage in promoting U.S. interests, potentially spurring flexibility from Canada and Mexico during talks, Kent said. “It may not be enough, he may want to go further, and they’re willing to take it,” he said. “Having the ability just to shut down the agreement may provide him some edge. I think he’s well known as a negotiator, and I think this may be part of that inclination.”

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

Regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over imports and exports published their regulatory plans for the next several months as part of the Fall 2016 Unified Agenda (here). New rulemakings include the development of a national standard for disclosing bioengineered food, a final rule to require filing of new data elements for high-risk seafood imports and a proposal to allow imports of poultry slaughtered in China.

The Fish and Wildlife Service should reconsider its approach to ACE so as to not add several new burdens to industry filers, a group of trade associations said in a Nov. 16 letter to FWS Director Dan Ashe (here). The groups, including the National Retail Federation, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the FWS International Trade Data System pilot "has raised a number of concerns about the entry process and the long-term implications that could adversely affect both the agency and the industry." Among the concerns are an increase in the tariff subheadings flagged by FWS as requiring some type of filer action and the end to the Non-Designated Port Exemption Permit (DPEP) (see 1611140019). "We believe it is critical that these issues are addressed before any new mandatory ACE requirement is issued by FWS," the associations said.

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

CBP will provide updates on the status of ACE in real time through a new "dashboard" site (here). The dashboard will "show the status for each ACE application server in real time; daily summaries over the preceding month; and averages for the past week, month and quarter," CBP said in a CSMS message (here).

The transition to the incoming Trump administration will be a period of “great uncertainty” for ACE, the single window and the government officials at the heart of the International Trade Data System effort, said Christa Brzozowski, deputy assistant secretary for trade policy, foreign investment and transport security at the Department of Homeland Security. The next few months will be an “exciting time,” but “frankly a little bit of a dangerous time,” as career federal employees that won’t be replaced during the transition work to ensure their higher-ups recognize the importance of the single window effort, she said at the Customs Commercial Operations Advisory Committee on Nov. 17 in Washington.