The coming transition to the Automated Commercial Environment may prove difficult for all involved, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said in a letter of appreciation to the trade industry released by the agency (here). CBP is making "important progress" as the first of three ACE-related deadlines approaches, he said in the Jan. 29 letter (here). As of May 1, CBP will require ACE for all electronic manifest filing. "We recognize ACE is driving changes to business practices and requires major investment on your part," he said in the letter. "The next year will be challenging for industry and government, as we fully transition to ACE." Kerlikowske encouraged companies not yet using ACE to make the transition "immediately" in order to be prepared for required use of ACE. The agency will require ACE for all electronic cargo released and entry summary filing beginning Nov. 1. Agency officials recently discussed some of the operational challenges related to the transition (see 1502100055).
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Feb. 19, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP posted information (here) on the agency's Trusted Trader pilot program that combines the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism supply chain security program with the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) import compliance program (see 14101019). The agency also posted a Trusted Trader applicant questionnaire (here), which CBP will request comment on in a coming notice, it said.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Feb. 18, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at http://adcvd.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb.
CBP updated its NAFTA Certificate of Origin form (here) to include email addresses, though CBP will accept older versions of the form, as it had previously (see 14100909), it said in a CSMS message (here). The agency will also accept the Canadian B232 and the Mexican Certificado de Origen forms, CBP said.
CBP will eventually test a "global element" of the Trusted Trader program, the agency said in a Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection document (here). The expansion "will include mutually agreed upon trade compliance criteria and reciprocating benefits between participating countries," it said. CBP is testing a new Trusted Trader program that combines the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism supply chain security program with the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) import compliance program (see 14101019). The agency has said it was considering aligning the program with Canada and Mexico (see 1412050024).
The U.S., Canada and Michigan signed an arrangement to establish a U.S. customs plaza and New International Trade Crossing to link Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, the Department of Homeland Security said (here). The customs plaza will be procured as part of a public-private partnership and the costs will be repaid from future toll revenues, said DHS. The partnership "will energize the continued turnaround of Detroit and the ongoing prosperity of the State of Michigan and the U.S. by providing jobs, modern infrastructure, and greater security," said DHS. The Detroit-Windsor Corridor is the largest commercial crossing along the border with Canada, representing about a quarter of trade flow between the U.S. and Canada in 2014, said DHS.
CBP is requesting comments by March 20 on an existing information collection for applications to use the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours.
CBP and other agencies tested the procedures for resuming cargo operations at the Port of Savannah following a disaster, CBP said in a press release (here). "This exercise included 30 representatives from CBP, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Chatham, Ga., Emergency Management Agency, Georgia Ports Authority, and the Independent Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Savannah," said the agency. The Jan. 21 test also looked at the resumption procedures for expedited Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism cargo release, it said.