International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 25-29 in case they were missed.
Some ocean carriers are having trouble seeing their list of approved trade partners, who may obligate their Type 2 custodial bond, in their ACE Portal account, said CBP in a CSMS message. Even though trade partners aren't currently being displayed, the In-bond Authorization functionality is still working as designed and trade partners are still associated to the carrier’s account, said CBP. CBP is working to resolve this issue and a notification will be posted to the ACE Portal News tab when the issue is resolved.
The next meeting for the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) is scheduled for May 22 in Washington, according to CBP's trade newsletter for the second quarter of FY 2013. The newsletter also provided descriptions of the most recent COAC meeting and ongoing efforts to use the Automated Commercial Environment with exports.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service’s pilot on electronic filing of import inspection applications through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) will begin in summer 2013, and will include all products under FSIS jurisdiction, including meat, poultry, and processed egg products, the agency said. While FSIS doesn’t currently plan to restrict the number of participants, it may do so based on the number of volunteers responding to the request for participation in the pilot, it said. And although the Federal Register notice announcing the pilot said requests to participate are due by May 28 (see 13032829), FSIS will evaluate any request to volunteer for the pilot, including late requests, and “consider such requests appropriately,” the agency told us.
Forthcoming customs reauthorization legislation will force Congress to confront tensions between trade security and trade facilitation, costs and benefits -- including how to implement the International Trade Data System and monitor Automated Commercial Enforcement -- according to a March 22 report on CBP from the Congressional Research Service. Most of the issues for Congress relating to CBP reauthorization stem from the “inherent tension between the commercial interest in trade facilitation and the often competing goals of enforcing trade laws and import security measures,” said the report, which also details the agency’s history and programs.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP posted new materials describing the Participating Government Agency (PGA) message set pilot program that will allow for the filing of some Environmental Protection Agency and Food Safety and Inspection Service information through ACE. The pilots will allow for electronic filing of foreign inspection certificates, automated validation checks and messaging between the agencies and the filers regarding validation results, according to overviews of the pilots (here) and (here). The EPA pilot will begin late summer and the FSIS pilot will begin May 28 (see 13032829).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said it will begin its pilot May 28 on submission of electronic import inspection applications for meat, poultry, and egg products (FSIS Form 9540-1) through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), and is accepting requests to participate from importers and customs brokers by that date. The pilot will be used to test the transfer of data from the Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set in ACE to FSIS’ Public Health Information System (PHIS), the agency said. FSIS also posted a draft compliance guide for importers and customs brokers on electronic filing of the form in ACE.
Customs reauthorization legislation, introduced March 22 in the Senate, aims to streamline CBP’s drawback process through electronic claim filing and the establishment of objective eligibility requirements. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2013, sponsored by Senate Finance Committee leaders Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is very similar to CBP reauthorization legislation previously introduced in both the House and Senate (see 13032610).