Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)

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modify 2001 instructions for implementing the use of ACE for eligible textile and apparel products that are entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, said USTR.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 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'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.

Major concerns persist among the trade community about readiness for the fast-approaching Feb. 28 mandatory use date for Automated Commercial Environment entry summary and cargo release. Despite the reprieve granted by CBP when it delayed the deadline from Nov. 1, the ACE adoption rate remains low. A constant stream of programming tweaks from CBP has made it impossible to finalize software, and as-yet-undeployed capabilities make it difficult even for some filers that want to file in ACE to make the switch to the new system, said several involved in implementation from the industry side in recent interviews.

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America remains worried about the number of software updates related to the Automated Commercial Environment so close to the mandatory use date, it said in a "open letter" to importers and exporters on Jan. 8 (here). Just as CBP decided to push back some of the mandatory use dates for ACE in response to readiness concerns for the system (see 1509010017), "we face the same decision now," said the trade group. The agency must immediately cease all software changes for processes that will be required in ACE as of Feb. 28, said the association.

Import data for goods regulated by the Federal Communications Commission can be filed through CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) until July 1, when a waiver of FCC Form 740 requirements takes effect, the commission said Jan. 6 (here). The FCC issued the notice as a clarification of its plans to waive the requirements when the Automated Commercial System (ACS) is shut down and the use of ACE is required for electronic filing (see 1510190056), it said. "The Commission’s characterization in the Order of CBP’s ACS as the current system used for filing Form 740 information has been misinterpreted by some affected parties."

The Food and Drug Administration considers its Automated Commercial Environment filing requirements to be “outlined,” according to a list of questions and answers posted by Integration Point following a Dec. 10 webinar (see 1512110027). Responding to a question on whether the agency’s required data elements are “locked down,” FDA said “any additional updates are refinements or clarifications, until such a time that new regulatory requirements indicate the need for further changes,” according to Integration Point, which hosted the webinar. The Q&A also includes information on the FDA ACE pilot, DUNS numbers, FDA’s “lockdown” policy of no changes to entry data within five days of arrival, and foreign-trade zones, among other topics.