The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) recommends that CBP remove the district permitting requirement and make other changes to broker regulations, said a CBP document posted ahead of the May 22 COAC meeting (here). The COAC recommendations call for new national permit framework that would require customs brokerages to employ an "adequate number of licensed brokers to ensure responsible supervision and control." The potential changes for the permitting regime has sparked some concerns among brokers, even leading to the creation of a "Save a Broker" letter writing campaign (see 14042918).
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker unveiled the next step of the National Export Initiative (NEI) during a May 13 event hosted by Atlantic Media. The initiative aims to help U.S. firms locate customers and identify markets abroad, while helping to finance export orders, said Pritzker. She said the administration would work with trade partners to adopt best practices that facilitate commerce. "For example, we’re holding more workshops for customs officials in Guatemala, Peru and the Dominican Republic," she said. Pritzker also reiterated the administration's commitment to complete the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) by 2016.
CBP New York/Newark released statistics in a pipeline notice showing the "cycle time measurement" of Centralized Examination Stations from January through March. The cycle times refer to the time from ocean container arrival, as transmitted via the Automated Commercial Environment, through final examination completion release date.
The Importer Security Filing (ISF) reports for the month of May 2014 will be delayed in getting posted to the Automated Commercial Environment Portal, said CBP. The reports should be posted to the ACE Portal the week of May 16, it said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
The recently elected National Customs Brokers & Forwarders President Geoffrey Powell will work to engage members on coming changes to the Automated Commercial Environment and export control reform, he said to association staff, according to a NCBFAA press release. “CBP’s ACE drop dates are on schedule which means all members must be using it by November 2015 if they want to stay in business,” said Powell, who is president of C.H. Powell. “That’s why we are working with our Affiliate Association partners to initiate local outreach efforts in their areas to ensure that both their members and the software vendors serving them are ready for ACE.” Powell will also work with government agencies on ways to facilitate export activity as part the National Export Initiative and will help familiarize new exporters on the processes involved, he said.
The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet May 22 at 1 p.m. in Miami, CBP said in a notice. Registration is available (here).
The CBP Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot will be expanded to include the truck mode of transportation, the agency said in a notice. The agency will seek new participants in the pilot program, which originally only applied to air transportation and now includes ocean and rail, it said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP will begin to allow importers to certify Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot data elements through the transmission of the ACE Entry Summary, the agency said in a notice. The agency also added three new data elements that will be required in order to certify from ACE Entry Summary.