US Customs Tests Digital Imaging for International Trade

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)
Technology to reduce paper documents, streamline monitoring

Customs and Border Protection this week began testing digital imaging software in the International Trade Data System to deliver documents to agencies that participate in the ITDS program.

It is the first of a list of top-priority deliverables that agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Consumer Product Safety Commission said they wanted incorporated into the ITDS system, which is under development as part of the Automated Commercial Environment. Although the agency made no formal announcement, Customs officials said it was a “big step forward” for ACE. Read more here.

Brokers to Play Key Role in US Customs System

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)

Account management to aggregate data for business

Customs brokers will play a key role in getting small and medium sized businesses into a Customs and Border Protection account management system, Commissioner Alan Bersin told members of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America on Monday.

Bersin said handling the imports of the United States as millions of lines of separate entries was an outdated practice that Customs must change.

“We have to aggregate this data and approach it in a simplified fashion, and that’s what management by account is intended to accomplish,” Bersin said. “It strikes me that the customs broker is absolutely critical in making account management available to small and medium-sized businesses.

“It’s going to require that we collaborate and figure out how the customs broker can help perform the aggregating tasks that will be required,” Bersin said. “It is a new set of responsibilities but I think your association recognized from the beginning that this is an evolving profession.” Read more here.

Ways and Means Members Upbeat About Customs Changes

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)

Leaders of the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee were upbeat Thursday afternoon about redirecting Customs and Border Protection’s focus to facilitating trade and collecting revenue after a hearing in which government officials and members of the trade community presented a range of ideas to match the movement of commerce to security needs.

Acting Subcommittee Chairman John D. Tanner, D-Tenn., and ranking member Kevn Brady, R-Texas, told trade witnesses the hearing was a good first step toward a Customs reauthorization bill that they expect to introduce before the end of the year.

Tanner and Brady said Customs’ efforts in supply chain security since the September 2001 terrorist attacks had moved resources away from the agency’s revenue functions that are part of Ways and Means oversight activities.

Tanner laid out particular areas that he plans the reauthorization bill to address. They included Customs’ failure to consult with the committee before taking significant policy steps. In the past two years Customs has proposed changes in the “first sale” rule for valuation, and country of origin labeling, only to backpedal when Congress objected.

The future of the Automated Commercial Environment and the International Trade Data System, Customs organization, trade facilitation and security, and new ways that Customs can regulate trade without impairing the flow of goods. Read more here.

Customs Establishes ACE Business Office

(Journal of Commerce Online – R.G.Edmonson)

Agency, trade to develop structure for Automated Commercial Environment

Customs and Border Protection is setting up the ACE Business Office to work out the needs of the Automated Commercial Environment. Dan Baldwin, assistant commissioner for international trade, said the business office will work with the trade community to clearly define what they want ACE to do before turning the project over to the Customs information technology office to develop the actual software.

“We decided to create an office to give ACE more structure,” Baldwin said. “Then we can tell the IT people ‘This is what you need to build,’ so we can tell Congress ‘this is what we intend to do and how much money we’ll need to do it.’”

The effort stems from problems Customs has had in getting the $3 billion ACE fully operational. In 2001, Congress put ACE on a 10-year development cycle that runs out in fiscal 2011. Now Customs will have to return to Congress to receive further funding. Customs plans to fund ACE piece-by-piece. The new strategy is to ask Congress for enough money to complete specific projects. Making the business case is what the ACE Business Office will do, Baldwin said. Read more here.

CBP: Updated ACE Reports Training Is Now Available for All ACE Portal Users

(CBP)

An updated version of “ACE Reports for the Trade Community” Web-based Training (WBT) is now available. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends that all new users and those who would like refresher training running standard and customized reports take the updated WBT.

Listed below are the topics included in the updated “ACE Reports for the Trade Community” WBT:

• Module 1: Course Navigation: Learn how to navigate through this Web-based training course.

• Module 2: ACE Reports: Learn how to run a standard report as well as how to manipulate, schedule and print or export the report. Users will also learn how to schedule an authorized data extract.

• Module 3: Ad hoc Functionality: Learn how to run and save a modified report.

To take the WBT, visit the “Training and Reference Guides” section on the CBP modernization website. The URL for the ACE Web Based Training can be found here.

CBP: New ACE Outreach Presentation Available

(CBP)

U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted a new ACE Outreach Presentation to CBP.gov under ACE Modernization/What is ACE/Presentations for ACE available here.

The “ACE Overview and Status Update” contains information on what is currently available in ACE as well as future functionality scheduled for later this year. Topics covered include periodic monthly statement, ACE reports and highlights of Entry Summary, Accounts and Revenue (ESAR) functionality as well as future functionality related to post summary corrections. For Cargo, Control and Release (CCR) the focus is on future functionality for ocean and rail manifest. The presentation includes screen shots of existing ACE Portal functionality as well as prototype screen shots of future functionality.

New and Updated Sections of the ACE User Guides

(CBP)

CBP has posted new and updated sections of the ACE User Guides reflecting detailed instructions for the trade community on using capabilities that were delivered as part of the Entry Summary, Accounts and Revenue (ESAR) A2.2 (delivered April 12, 2009) and A2.3.1a deployment (delivered February 14, 2010).

The new section is titled, "AD/CVD Cases and Management" and provides instructions on searching and printing information related to AD/CVD cases and messages. To access this new section, go to CBP.gov under under ACE Modernization/Training & Reference Guides/ ACE Portal Accounts Management.

The updated sections are as follows:

• Blanket Declaration Records- provides instructions on creating, searching and printing declaration records for portal and non-portal accounts. To access this updated section, go to CBP.gov under ACE Modernization/Training and Reference Guides

• Running ACE Reports for Importers, Brokers and Sureties- provides information on basic functionality of the ACE Reports Tool and outlines detailed instructions on how to access available reports (including standard, modified, customized and automated data extract (ADE) report) . To access this updated section, go to CBP.gov under ACE Modernization/Training and Reference Guides

• ACE 101- provides an overview of the ACE Secure Data Portal as well as current and future ACE features. To access this updated section, go to CBP.gov under ACE Modernization/What is ACE

CBP: New Trade Training Available for All ACE Portal Users

(CBP)

Web-based Training (WBT) for “ACE Forms, Declarations & AD/CVD Cases” is now available. Listed below are the topics included in the new WBT as well as the recommended audience. The 90 minute WBT provides extensive training on the new enhancements which will be deployed on January 17, 2010.

Lesson 1: Release Introduction – ALL ACE Accounts

Lesson 2: AD/CVD Case Management – Broker and Importer Accounts and other interested parties (Learn to search, display and print AD/CVD Case information.)

Lesson 3: AD/CVD Messages – Broker and Importer Accounts and other interested parties
(Learn to search, display and print AD/CVD Case Messages.)

Lesson 4: Declarations – Broker and Importer Accounts
(Importers – learn about enhancements to existing Declarations functionality. Brokers – learn to create, display, print and cancel declarations for importer’s who do not have an ACE Portal account.)

Lesson 5: AD/CVD Reports – Broker and Importer Accounts
(Learn about new AD/CVD Reports and enhancements to some current ACE reports.)

To take the WBT, visit the “Training and Reference Guides” section here. The URL for the ACE Web Based Training and the required user name and password are:

https://nemo.customs.gov/ace_online/
User name: user01 • Password: 1Password

New ACE Release Offers Expanded Functionality for AD/CV Entries

(CBP)

Custom and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) plans to conduct a National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) test concerning new Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Entry Summary, Accounts and Revenue (ESAR III) capabilities. These new capabilities include functionalities specific to the filing and processing of anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) entries and case management.

A notice in the Federal Register announces the test’s commencement, describes the eligibility, procedural and documentation requirements for voluntary participation in the test, outlines CBP’s development and evaluation methodology, and invites public comment concerning any aspect of the test.

U.S. Customs Pledges Automation Program Will Arrive

(Journal of Commerce Online – Bill Mongelluzzo)

Agency assures forwarders CBP is committed to automated manifest system despite delays

Customs and Border Protection’s advanced computer system for processing documentation is taking longer to develop and will cost more than anticipated, but completing development of the Automated Commercial Environment remains one of the agency’s top priorities.

“I can understand your frustration with ACE,” Thomas Winkowski, assistant commissioner of CBP, told Wesccon, the annual cargo conference of West Coast freight forwarders and customs brokers. The federal government in the past saw significant problems developing computer systems for the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Defense, but ACE will not meet the same fate as those troubled efforts. “ACE won’t be scrapped. There’s strong support for it on the Hill,” Winkowski told the Wesccon gathering in Rancho Mirage, Calif., over the weekend. Read more here.

New Documents to Assist ACE Transition

(CBP)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is providing supporting documentation on its website for the new ACE entry summary process it successfully piloted in Buffalo last month and in Chicago, Laredo and Long Beach in May.

ACE or the Automated Commercial Environment is a CBP initiative designed to modernize the agency’s international trade business processes, improve homeland security and re-engineer the technology system that supports them.

The latest ACE pilot program allows the trade community to file and CBP to process, in ACE, the two most common entry types, 01 Consumption and 11 Informal. The ACE entry summary pilot will be extended to additional ports in stages to permit rigorous testing before it is implemented nationally. ACE entry summary processing for remaining entry types will be added throughout the next few years.

The ACE outreach documents will assist the international trade community in their transition to ACE. This information includes additional links to helpful memos and directives on ACE entry summary processing, and will be continually updated with every major ACE release.

• ACE Entry Summary Instructions These instructions are organized the way the data is transmitted and stored in ACE. They include descriptions of the entry summary data fields and links to program and policy documents.

• Business Rules and Process Document (Trade) Version 1.1 ACE is a true electronic system of record keeping for entry summary processing. This significant change requires revised operational policies and procedures, and this document informs the public of those changes. Links to program and policy documents are included as well.

• CBP Form 7501 TEST – Document/Payment Transmittal This test 7501 transmittal may be used by the trade as a cover sheet to submit required paper documents or monies due related to an ACE entry summary.

• ACE Entry Summary Rejection Response This response template may be used to respond to a CBP initiated electronic entry summary rejection.

CBP has been working closely with the members of the Trade Support Network and the ACE ambassador representatives to develop these documents, and will continue this collaboration over the coming months to ensure clear and transparent guidance on CBP’s importing requirements.

Speeding US Import Clearances

(Outsourced Logistics)

Successful steps have been taken to allow importers and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to more completely file and process most common entry summaries.

CBP explains that entry summaries represent 96% of all entries filed each year. Now, through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) program Secure Data Portal importer account holders can opt to receive and respond to CBP forms electronically.

Commenting on the initial implementation of the expanded capabilities, Louis Samenfink, ACE program executive director, said, “This is quite an exciting year for those who work on and with ACE as we have successfully begun the deployment of new automated entry summary processing features, and will deploy the replacement of current rail and sea automated manifest systems by mid-summer. More than 20,000 CBP and participating government agency end users will be affected by these innovative electronic processes.” Read more here.

Canadian Border Crossings: From Bad to Worse?

(Land Line – David Tanner)

Truckers can face two worst-case scenarios when crossing the U.S.-Canadian border. Not only are long wait times a foregone conclusion, especially from Michigan or New York into Ontario, but there’s also a chance that insufficient paperwork on a load will lead to an even longer wait or a flat-out rejection.

Transport Canada is working to implement a streamlined system for cross-border freight similar to the ACE program in the U.S. ACE stands for Automated Commercial Environment, and it requires truckers or shippers to send a load manifest electronically to border officials ahead of a crossing.

The Canadian system is called ACI, or Advance Commercial Information.

An easy way to decipher the alphabet soup is to think of ACE and ACI as the manifest paperwork for the freight, while FAST, C-TPAT and other programs are the credentials used for the drivers.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is certainly in favor of streamlining the clearance system at border crossings, but not when the system favors large businesses and shuts out small carriers from the U.S.

The ACI program, according to OOIDA, favors larger carriers that are already paying to belong to programs such as FAST, C-TPAT and others. OOIDA believes many small-business operators could get shut out if they don’t jump through extra hoops at extra costs.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance, on the other hand, is lobbying the government for protections for the biggest carriers, shippers and customs brokers who use FAST, C-TPAT and the credentialing programs that small businesses may not use. Read more here.

New ACE Features to Facilitate Information-Sharing Nationwide

(US CBP)

Enhancing efficiency

ACE portal importer account holders will have the option to receive and respond to CBP Forms 28, 29 and 4647 electronically through the ACE Secure Data Portal. Being able to communicate CBP requests and actions via the portal will provide for quicker resolution of entry summary verifications and transactional issues compared to the current paper-based process. Electronic responses will be stored with associated entry summaries, enabling them to be shared within CBP nationwide and reducing the possibility that an importer would be asked to provide the same information at more than one port.

“With ACE, CBP import and entry teams won’t have to wait for additional entry summary information to be sent by mail. They will be able to receive information electronically – potentially much faster,” said Lou Samenfink, executive director of the CBP Cargo Systems Program Office. “This electronic process will benefit both CBP and the trade community through increased efficiency.”

Achieving national visibility and supporting consistency

Establishing a national repository of information will allow every port to trace the history of a CBP review to its conclusion. Electronic access to this information is expected to facilitate consistent decision-making by ports nationwide and supports efforts by CBP to employ a holistic, nationwide approach to managing compliance with trade laws and regulations.

CBP Automated Forms Streamline Review Process

(US Customs and Border Protection Agency)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will automate versions of CBP Forms 28, 29 and 4647, “Request for Information,” “Notice of Action” and “Demand for Redelivery,” respectively, beginning in spring 2009. The new paperless process will allow importers with an Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal account to interact faster and more efficiently with an import specialist to ensure goods are properly classified on the entry summary.

Automating forms saves time

Automating CBP Forms 28, 29 and 4647, the most commonly used CBP forms, will reduce the time and effort of import specialists to provide notification to a filer or request more documentation for roughly 260,000 entry summaries each year – five percent of entry summaries filed. The new automated forms capability is part of entry summary, accounts and revenue initial entry summary types capabilities, to be deployed beginning in spring 2009. These capabilities will enable consumption and informal entry processing, entry types 01 and 11, respectively, to be processed in ACE, the agency’s new commercial trade processing system.

Streamlining procedures ensures efficiency>

… Automating CBP Forms 28, 29 and 4647 facilitates CBP’s goal of streamlining the team review process. During team review, an import specialist uses these forms to interact with filers to ensure imported goods are recorded correctly, modify incorrect classification values or determine if the import complies with U.S. trademark regulations.


Providing additional documentation is easier electronically

Currently, import specialists examine the entry summary for potential inaccuracies, and if more documentation or action is required, paper forms are delivered to importers. Importers or their brokers return the requested information through a mail carrier service, prolonging the time it takes CBP to receive this information and making it difficult for filers to confirm that the information was received by CBP.

With the new automated forms capability, import specialists will be able to send an electronic request for information to importers that have established ACE Secure Data Portal accounts. Importers will have the option of attaching an electronic file containing supplemental materials and using the ACE portal to track the status of their submissions, ensuring CBP has received the requested documentation. Read more here.

TSN Plenary Session Executive Summary

(CBP)

The Trade Support Network (“TSN”) Plenary session was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Reston, Virginia on March 4, 2009. Highlights of the plenary session included an overview of the progress of the ACE project as well as updates on future functionality related to Entry Summary, Accounts, & Revenue and Cargo Control and Release. In all, there were 146 attendees (inclusive of trade, PGA, CBP and ACE Support Staff).

The TSN has been extremely active in helping to push CBP to build the best system possible and to keep the agency focused on what is important from the trade’s perspective. The TSN is unique because it allows the regulators to be informed and advised by the regulated. First created in the 1990s during the earlier ill-fated ACE years, it was revitalized in 2001 after funding was restored and contractors were selected.

First created in the 1990s during the earlier ill-fated ACE years, the TSN was revitalized in 2001 after funding was restored and contractors were selected. Today, the TSN is active in helping to push CBP to build the best system possible and to keep the agency focused on what is important from the trade’s perspective. The TSN is unique because it allows the regulators to be informed and advised by the regulated.

The TSN is comprised of several committees, each devoted to certain aspects of ACE or the project as a whole. For example, there are committees devoted to legal and policy issues, as well as those issues that will arise in the transition from ACS to ACE. There are also committees focused on operational parts of ACE, such as entry, finance, manifests, and the implementation of the International Trade Data System, or ITDS. ITDS will eventually exist within ACE as a single interface (also known as the “single window” between the trade community, Customs, and the many other government agencies (OGAs) involved in the administration of trade.

All of the TSN Plenary session presentations can be found at the CBP website here.

More Companies Using ACE Periodic Payment to Lower Costs, Streamline Operations – CBP

(World Trade Interactive)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that the periodic monthly statement process available under the Automated Commercial Environment is growing in popularity. This process allows importers and brokers to pay duties and fees monthly instead of on a transaction-by-transaction basis.

A recent CBP press release states that during the last six months of 2008 nearly $7 billion in duties and fees was collected from importers and brokers using this process. For all of 2008 CBP collected $12.5 billion from ACE participants, a more than 450% increase over 2005.

CBP states that periodic monthly statement processing may provide participants with a significant cash flow advantage, as entry summaries for goods entered or released during the previous month are consolidated and can be paid on the 15th working day of the following month. In addition, the monthly statements obtained through ACE can streamline accounting and report processing by providing an electronic record for companies to trace their import activities and quickly generate easy-to-use business reports.

CBP User Fee Contingency Plan: January 1-31, 2009

(CBP)

The CBP has approved a contingency plan to allow conveyances that normally pay annual user fees to be cleared by CBP without a per crossing/arrival payment from January 1-31, 2009. This contingency plan does not affect the collection of per crossing/arrival fees for conveyances that normally pay per crossing/arrival.

The contingency plan has been authorized due to the late delivery of the Decal and Transponder Online Procurement System (DTOPS), which did not go live until November 17, 2008, and left annual fee subscribers with an abbreviated window of opportunity to submit their electronic applications for annual fee renewals. As a result, internal CBP resources are stressed to actually process all the applications for annual fee renewals by the end of the calendar year.

In order to be eligible for the waiver of the per crossing/arrival fee from January 1-31, 2009, commercial and private conveyance operators must present the following evidence:

Commercial Conveyances:
• 2008 transponder, or
• DTOPS transmission receipt, or
• CBP Finance Center receipt, or
• Verification through the ACE system of the 2008 annual fee payment

Private Conveyances:
• 2008 transponder, or
• DTOPS transmission receipt, or
• CBP Finance Center receipt, or
• CBP Form 368 (Cash Collection or Receipt)

If a conveyance is covered by an active 2008 transponder, CBP will not require proof of payment for the 2009 renewal to waive the per crossing/arrival fee.

Questions regarding this notice may be directed to Mr. Chris Kennally at (202) 344-2476.

ACE Capabilities on Entry Processing, Manifests, Etc. to be Expanded

( WorldTrade Interactive)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is working to expand the capabilities of the Automated Commercial Environment over the next six to nine months. CBP has also outlined the additional functionality that will be offered in future ACE releases.

Entry Processing
• A2.2 – In mid-2009 CBP plans to launch a test of ACE’s new entry summary, accounts and revenue capabilities (ESAR II, or A2.2), which will include functionality specific to the filing and processing of formal consumption entries and informal entries (type 01 and 11). CBP is expected to soon publish in the Federal Register a notice setting forth the schedule for the deployment of this test to specified ports. Testing is scheduled to begin in February for a limited number of “early adopters.”

Under A2.2 entry types 01 and 11 will be able to be sent to either ACE or the Automated Commercial System. ACE filers will not have to file all such entries in ACE; so long as they are ACS certified they can choose to transmit any of their entries via ACS. Data for ACE reports will be extracted from both ACE and ACS.

A2.2 will include a new process allowing filers to electronically correct Census Bureau warnings through the submission of an override code. These codes can be used to preempt Census warnings before they happen or to fix errors that cause a warning at the time of filing.

A2.2 will also allow various types of declarations to be included in the ACE filing, including manufacturer affidavits, certain marking rulings, importer certifying statements, NAFTA certificates of origin and non-reimbursement blanket statements for antidumping and countervailing duties.

Under A2.2 CBP forms 28 (Request for Information), 29 (Notice of Action) and 4647 (Notice to Mark and/or Notice to Redeliver) will be created by CBP and stored in a national database. If an ACE account holder elects to receive communications via the ACE portal, these forms will be posted to their task list in the portal and they will be able to interactively respond and attach/upload documents.

Other new functionality in A2.2 includes an expansion of the ACE reporting tool. Read the complete article here.

New Year’s Border Tie-Ups Possible Unless US Adopts Contingency Plan for Electronic Collection of Border Crossing Fees: CTA

(Canadian Trucking Alliance)

The Canadian Trucking Alliance says the implementation of a new system for renewing the transponder technology used by most truckers to pay US border crossing fees has been so fraught with problems that unless immediate contingencies are put in place, traffic could be snarled at Canada-US border crossings starting on January 1, 2009. Moreover, the Alliance which represents over 4,500 trucking companies from across Canada warns that the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program, which is heavily relied upon by the automotive manufacturing sector, for example, could be particularly compromised.

Transborder trucking companies are charged a combination of fees each and every time they enter the United States. The fees are collected by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) a branch of the US Department of Homeland Security. Trucking companies have two options for paying the fees. They can either pay US$10.75 each time one of their trucks crosses the border; or they can equip their trucks with transponders and pay an annual fee of US$205 per truck. Obviously, for most transborder carriers the transponder option is optimal. However, trucking companies must renew the transponders each year before December 31st.

The root of the problem is that CBP recently changed its process for transponder renewal. The new system, called the Decal and Transponder Online Procurement System (DTOPS), was to have been introduced in September 2008. However, implementation was delayed twice due to problems uncovered during testing and was not introduced until November 17th – a mere seven weeks before the end of the year renewal deadline. Generally, it takes anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks for the application and renewal process to be completed. Moreover, significant problems have been encountered during the transition to the new system creating an enormous backlog. Paper applications for transponder renewal which CBP had been accepting were suspended last month and carriers were told to go to a new online web-based system. But, the website has not been functioning properly. Within a half an hour of going live, it crashed. Technical difficulties persist.

Compounding the problem is that the DTOPS office has a staff of only 30 people to handle the processing of electronic applications, the backlog of paper applications and troubleshooting system errors and technical glitches. Carriers complain that when they call the DTOPS office for assistance, they are put on hold for extended periods, or are asked to send an email or leave a voice mail. Follow-up is slow or non-existent.

In November, the DTOPS office told CTA it would have to process 1,400 applications per day to be able to issue all renewals before the end-of-year expiry date. The current completion rate may actually be as low as 285 per day. Moreover, just last week CBP said there are still almost 90,000 transponder renewals to be processed, which would require a process rate of about 3,100 applications per day.

The inescapable conclusion, according to CTA, is that many transborder trucking companies will not have valid transponders on January 1, 2009 and they will have to pay the border crossing fee every time one of their trucks crosses the border into the United States. US border officials will require additional time to process individual payments and issue thousands of receipts. The FAST program, which works in conjunction with an active and functioning transponder, would be rendered meaningless.

But according to CTA’s CEO, David Bradley, “So far there appears little sense of urgency at CBP; as of last week we were told there had been no internal discussion of possible contingency plans.” CTA and its US counterpart, the American Trucking Associations (ATA), have suggested that CBP could adopt a policy of soft enforcement of transponder renewals on January 1st, 2009 that will allow existing transponders to be used without having to produce proof of renewal. Alternatively, CBP could track cross-border trips using the Automated Customs Environment (ACE) database — all commercial vehicles entering the US are required to file an ACE e-Manifest — and cap the cost to carriers at the same level as the annual cost of a transponder.

“The clock is ticking towards the end of the year; if the potential chaos at the border is going to be averted then we really need action now,” says CTA’s CEO, David Bradley. “It will be very tough to get anything done in a couple of weeks’ time when more people are on Christmas holidays.” CTA is calling upon the Government of Canada to intervene on the matter.