CBP posted additional details on the agency's recently revised plans for transitioning to the Automated Commercial Environment (here). CBP decided to push back some of the mandatory use dates for ACE in response to readiness concerns for the system (see 1509010017). As part of the updated schedule, beginning Feb. 28, ACE will be required for electronic entries and entry summaries, as well as for Food and Drug Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Lacey Act data.
Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)
The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is the CBP's electronic system through which the international trade community reports imports and exports and the government determines admissibility.
CBP made some major changes in its timeline for requiring use of the Automated Commercial Environment, allowing for Automated Commercial System filing several months beyond the original mandatory use date, the agency said Aug. 31 (here). The original Nov. 1 deadline will now begin a "transition period" where use of ACE is "encouraged," with more ACE requirements phased in through July. The changes came in response to a number of industry concerns recently lodged with CBP (see 1507290066 and 1507150063), as well as shifts in resources related to the move to ACE for Air Manifest (see 1506110007). CBP said it still plans to finish the ACE transition by Oct. 1, 2016 (here), ahead of the completion of the International Trade Data System by the end of 2016, as required by a 2014 White House executive order (see 14021928).
CBP is working to fix processing errors that affected Automated Commercial Environment cargo release status notifications, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). The problems occurred Aug. 21-25, it said.
CBP plans to begin the second phase of Partner Government Agency pilot programs to test filing in the Automated Commercial Environment on Sept. 2, CBP said in a CSMS message (here). The second phase will include an expansion of the ports involved, the agency said. During the first phase last week, Food and Drug Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration entry data transactions were "successfully transmitted, accepted and processed" in ACE, said CBP.
CBP is seeking pilot participants to test Food and Drug Administration data filing and release through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), said CBP in a notice (here). The FDA partner government agency (PGA) message set pilot will test the submission of electronic "data elements required by the FDA’s cargo admissibility process under the auspices of ACE for those commodities regulated by the FDA that are being imported or offered for import" into the U.S., said CBP.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission will on Aug. 21 publish the Federal Register notice requesting participants in its pilot on electronic filing of product data through its Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) (here). Recruitment for the pilot will run until Oct. 5 or until a maximum of nine participants are accepted, said the notice.
CBP will begin a test of ocean cargo manifest filing for exports within the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency said in a notice (here). The voluntary test will require participants to submit export data electronically at least 24 hours before loading, the agency said. Currently, the complete manifest is required on paper CBP Form 1302-A after departure, said CBP. The pilot will begin on Sept. 21 and is scheduled to last for two years, said CBP.
CBP continues to talk with the relevant stakeholders about the timeline for the Automated Commercial Environment, a CBP spokeswoman said in response to a question about possible high-level consideration for revising the mandatory use dates (see 1508140025). "Deputy Secretaries meet periodically to discuss a number of topics that the Department of Homeland Security has purview over, including ACE," she said. "Should the meeting result in any new information regarding ACE, CBP will issue information as soon as we receive it through press releases and a press roundtable." CBP has been working closely with partner government agencies (PGAs), the White House, and industry to meet the major milestones included in the 2014 executive order on the International Trade Data System (see 14021928), said the spokeswoman.
Deputy secretaries from several federal agencies will soon consider revising the required use dates for some Automated Commercial Environment capabilities, said Geoff Powell, president of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in an Aug. 14 email. "In speaking with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last week, we were advised that Deputy Secretaries from several Departments will soon be discussing the ACE path forward, and understand that the White House will be making a decision in the coming weeks on whether to modify CBP's current transition plan," he said. CBP said on July 30 it had not formally recommended a delay to the ACE timelines (see 1507300004).
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is seeking participants for a pilot set to begin Aug. 19 to test electronic filing in the Automated Commercial Environment (here). Under the pilot, importers of distilled spirits, wine, beer, tobacco products, processed tobacco, and cigarette papers and tubes will file information with CBP through TTB’s partner government agency (PGA) message set to meet TTB import requirements. Filers who wish to participate should contact TTB’s John Kyranos at (202) 453–2265 x001, or e-mail regulations@ttb.gov. TTB is also asking for comments on draft filing instructions on how to use its PGA message set in ACE (here). Comments are due Oct. 6.