Entries and entry summaries filed on paper after Feb. 28 at the Los Angeles area ports will face delays, said Anne Maricich, acting director of field operations in L.A in a Jan. 15 public bulletin. As of Feb. 28, the Automated Commercial Environment will be available and electronic filing will be required in ACE, she said. The L.A. international airport, L.A./Long Beach Seaport and "outlying ports will give priority to processing all electronic entries and entry summaries," said Maricich. "Filers who submit paper entries will face delays in cargo processing, impacting the release of their shipments." Only 12 percent of "cargo" and 69 percent of entry summaries are being filed at the area's ports in ACE as of the end of 2015, said Maricich. Low levels of cargo release submissions is a source of some concern at CBP ahead of the ACE transition dates (see 1510190017 and 1601140031).

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan 11-15 in case they were missed.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative directed CBP to allow importers to send electronic images of an appropriate export visa from sub-Saharan beneficiaries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act when claiming preferential treatment for entries of textile and apparel products under the agreement, USTR said (here). USTR’s guidance specifically calls on the CBP commissioner to allow importers to provide an appropriate export visa submitted electronically via the Document Image System or other approved functionality in the Automated Commercial Environment or successor system. "A shipment still must be visaed by stamping an original circular visa, in blue ink only, on the front of the original commercial invoice," it said. The USTR directions modify 2001 instructions for implementing the use of ACE for eligible textile and apparel products that are entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, said USTR.

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

CBP will begin an effort in February to encourage export filers to transfer over to the Automated Commercial Environment, said Cynthia Whittenburg, director of policy and programs at CBP’s trade office, at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) held Jan. 13 in New Orleans. Following deployment of Automated Export System functionality in ACE on Nov. 30 (see 1512010022), CBP hopes to shut down the Census Bureau’s legacy system “as soon as possible,” she said.

Between Feb. 28 and July, paper filing for Partner Government Agencies is allowed if PGA message set and the Document Image System are unavailable, said CBP in a CSMS message. All cargo release and entry summary transactions must be filed in the Automated Commercial Environment as of Feb. 28, though "filers may now begin submitting all cargo release transactions including these PGA requirements to ACE for CBP to review," it said. Between Feb. 28 and July, after which filing for a number of agencies will be required within ACE, PGA message set pilot participants may submit within the PGA message set, said. Filers may also file documents through DIS, said CBP. "If PGA message set and DIS are unavailable, the paper document may be submitted to the port office for review" and "a cover letter should be provided that includes the entry number, a point of contact, and phone number," said CBP.

Members of the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) reiterated calls for the agency to take an informed compliance approach to implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, and possibly delay enforcement for certain capabilities that are set to become mandatory at the end of February, at the group’s quarterly meeting held Jan. 13 in New Orleans.

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

CBP's Assistant Commissioner for the Office of International Affairs Charles Stallworth recently retired, said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske during the Jan. 13 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection meeting. Mark Koumans, deputy assistant secretary for international affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, will handle Stallworth's work for the near future, said Kerlikowske. CBP also recently removed "acting" from Debbie Augustin's title, meaning she's now Executive Director of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) business office, said Kerlikowske.

The Agricultural Marketing Service is issuing a final rule to allow for electronic filing of shell egg import requests through the CBP Automated Commercial Environment and by email (here). The rule is meant to streamline the import process for table eggs, hatching eggs and inedible liquid egg by requiring that applications for inspection be submitted electronically, the AMS said when it proposed the rule (see 1506090024). The proposed rule is meant to comply with President Barack Obama's executive order that called for completion of the International Trade Data System by the end of 2016. No comments were filed on the proposal, said the AMS.