CBP Updates COAC on ACS Maintenance/Enhancement, FAST, Bioterrorism Act, WCO Task Force, Etc
The Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) held a quarterly meeting on February 6, 2004 in Washington, DC to discuss, and receive updates from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials on, various customs and trade issues.
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This is Part VI, the final part of a multi-part series of summaries of the February 6, 2004 COAC meeting and focuses on Automated Commercial System (ACS) maintenance/enhancement, the Bioterrorism Act, the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program, and the World Customs Organization's (WCO's) Task Force on Supply Chain Security.
ACS Maintenance/Enhancement
Certain COAC members addressed the issue of CBP's maintenance and enhancement of the Automated Commercial System (ACS) during the February 6, 2004 meeting, noting that since the beginning of ACE development, CBP has made minimal efforts towards ACS maintenance and, as the deadlines for the implementation of ACE have been extended, the trade has been forced to rely on ACS for a longer than expected period of time.
CBP officials responded by noting that CBP's shift in resources from ACS to ACE has primarily been in the area of staffing. CBP officials also noted that they are trying to keep ACS enhancements to a minimum as they must also be incorporated into ACE.
CBP officials added that they are dedicated to maintaining ACS. CBP also noted that Congress has fenced certain funding only for ACE and, as a result, CBP has had to divide up a finite amount of money for the rest of the non-ACE issues.
Bioterrorism Act
CBP officials discussed the implementation of the Bioterrorism Act by CBP and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to CBP officials, CBP-FDA joint targeting efforts are going well. CBP sources also noted that certain problems that had been experienced with Border Release Advanced Screening and Selectivity (BRASS) and HTS 9801 have been resolved.
FAST
CBP officials stated that in response to concerns about the timeliness of the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program, CBP has determined that processing times for various programs are as follows:
the average processing time for FAST is 18 seconds;
the average processing time for BRASS is 39 seconds; and
the average processing time for ABI (Border Cargo Selectivity) is 54 seconds.
WCO Task Force on Global Security Standards
In addition, COAC members expressed appreciation to the CBP Commissioner for his support of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Task Force on Global Security Standards' efforts.
CBP officials noted that at a recent WCO meeting a decision was made to disband the Task Force and institutionalize its efforts in existing WCO institutions instead. According to sources, several Director Generals will form an executive steering committee for driving/championing the issue of supply chain security within the WCO.
Sources also expected that the April 2004 meeting of the WCO Task Force on Global Security Standards would be the last Task Force meeting.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 02/10/04, 02/12/04, 02/17/04, 02/18/04, and 02/20/04 news, 04021015, 04021205, 04021705, 04021805, and 04022005, for Parts I, II, III, IV, and V of this multi-part series of summaries on the February 6, 2004 COAC meeting.)