Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)

The Food and Drug Administration added a new document (here) to its website outlining valid Affirmation of Compliance (AofC) codes for entries filed in the Automated Commercial Environment. The document includes a list of valid codes, as well as short explanations and examples. Refer to FDA’s supplemental guide (here) to determine whether an AofC is required for a given entry, said FDA.

An increase to the de minimis threshold, the first of likely many changes to CBP's regulations due to the customs reauthorization law (see 1602260049), is expected to be a relatively easy update, said Mike Mullen, executive director of the Express Association of America. Mullen is involved in ongoing discussions between industry and CBP on the changes, which are targeted for implementation by March 10, he said during an interview on March 1. Mullen has long pushed for changes to de minimis on behalf of the group's members, which include UPS and FedEx.

CBP made some changes in its draft Automated Commercial Environment business process document that reflect the new transition timeline (here). "The ACE Cargo Release Business Processes document provides an overview of processes, procedures and policies associated with the filing and release of entries in ACE," said CBP in a CSMS message (here). CBP posted a first draft last year and requested industry comments (see 1505180010).

CBP formally spelled out its revised timeline for making the Automated Commercial Environment the sole Electronic Data Interchange for providing import data required by CBP and some other agencies in a notice (here). The notice follows CBP's recent decision to delay some mandatory use dates for ACE following readiness concerns (see 1602080042). "While significant progress has been made, continued concerns about trade readiness have necessitated an updated timeline for the mandatory transition to ACE for electronic entry and entry summary filing," said CBP. "As a result, CBP has developed a staggered transition strategy, to give the trade additional time to adjust their business practices and complete programming for entry and entry summary filing in ACE."

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (here), signed into law by President Barack Obama on Feb. 24, establishes new requirements for customs brokers to verify the identities of their importer clients, as well as a new importer of record database. It also provides for CBP's National Targeting Center to issue "Trade Alerts" directing CBP port personnel to inspect high-risk merchandise, and directs CBP to accept private sector training on classification, appraisement, and other enforcement issues.

The new processes for antidumping and countervailing duty evasion investigations and intellectual property rights protections are likely to be some of the first items addressed by the CBP once customs reauthorization legislation is signed by President Obama, said Alice Kipel, CBP's new executive director of regulations and rulings (ORR), during a Feb. 23 interview. Only about two months into her new job (see 1602120034), Kipel already faces the daunting task of prioritizing some of the biggest changes in the agency's long history. In addition to implementation to the customs bill, Kipel will help oversee the regulatory process for Automated Commercial Environment rules as well as look to improve speeds on customs rulings responses, she said.

All live entries at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport filed within Automated Commercial Environment Cargo Release should go directly to CBP's financial team in Long Beach, said CBP Port Director Carlos Martel in a public bulletin on Feb. 23. "Since ACE Cargo Release is considered a paperless program, brokers/filers will only be required to submit in a green folder, CBP Form 7501 or 7501A, with a check attached to the Financial Team," said Martel. "The invoice, packing list, and remaining supporting documents shall be uploaded onto the Document Image System."

The Food and Drug Administration recently posted a list of valid unit of measure codes for filings in the Automated Commercial Environment (here) to its ACE/ITDS webpage (here). Use of a code not included on the list will result in an ACE entry rejection, said FDA. Each level of packaging should be declared, and the same code cannot be declared more than once, it said. The list also includes examples for each commodity type.

Customs brokers play a central role in the Energy Department’s plans to require submission of “certifications of admissibility” data elements in the Automated Commercial Environment at time of entry for products subject to energy efficiency standards, said DOE officials speaking at a workshop held Feb. 19 in Washington. A key motive behind the agency’s proposal is that it will prompt brokers to ask their importer clients whether products included in a given entry are subject to energy efficiency standards, forcing the importer to consider whether testing and certification are required, they said.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is drafting a "formal clarification" to spell out exemptions to Lacey Act declaration requirements for plant products entered from Foreign Trade Zones, an APHIS spokeswoman said in an email. There's been confusion over several years as to whether an exemption to the requirements applies to type 06 entries. With the move toward the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency plans to bring type 06 entries "into the fold of the Lacey Act declaration requirement," APHIS's Parul Patel, senior agriculturalist, Imports, Regulations, and Manuals, said at a National Association of Foreign Trade Zones conference on Feb. 9.