CBP Issues Outline of its ACE Deployment Schedule
At the Automated Commercial Environment Exchange V conference held June 4-6, 2007 in Buffalo, NY, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials gave a PowerPoint presentation on the upcoming deployment of ACE.
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(ACE is a new U.S. trade system designed to consolidate and automate border processing. According to CBP, through staged development and implementation, ACE will replace the Automated Commercial System (ACS) as the cargo processing system of record for CBP.)
This is Part I of a multi-part series of summaries on CBP's presentations at the ACE Exchange V conference, and gives an overview of ACE and focuses on CBP's current ACE deployment schedule. See future issues of ITT for additional summaries.
In its presentation, CBP notes that ACE will:
allow trade participants to better manage their trade information;
facilitate efficient collection, processing, and analysis of commercial import and export data;
provide an information-sharing platform for trade data throughout the government via the International Trade Data System (ITDS);
expedite legitimate trade by providing CBP with tools to efficiently process imports/exports and move goods quickly across the border;
improve communication, collaboration, and compliance efforts between CBP and the trade community; and
increase visibility into the supply chain.
ACE Releases 2 and 3 Implemented, Completion of ACE Release 4 This Summer
According to CBP, ACE Release 2 (the ACE Secure Data Portal) and Release 3 (Periodic Payment) have already been implemented. CBP is currently in the process of implementing Release 4 (e-Manifest: Truck). CBP expects to complete its implementation of e-Manifest: Truck in summer 2007.
Highlights of Upcoming ACE Milestones
ESAR A1 - Master Data and Enhanced Accounts Capabilities (August 11, 2007)
CBP notes that under ESAR A1:
new account types will be added (e.g., sureties, Foreign Trade Zone operators), among other capabilities; and
electronic access will be provided to account-related master, reference, and transactional data through ACE accounts.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/08/07 news, 07050805, for BP summary on the deployment of Entry Summary, Accounts, and Revenue (ESAR) A1 on August 11, 2007.)
ESAR A2 (Fall 2008, Maybe Later)
According to CBP, ESAR A2 will consist of:
integration of CBP financial system secure payment via Pay.Gov;
consolidation of refund payments;
electronic entry summary correction capability;
electronic Census warning override; and
paper reduction through scanning technology.
Rail and Sea Manifest (Fall 2008)
ACE will be introduced to rail and seaports, providing a consolidated view of manifest, entry, and reference file information.
Air Manifest and Cargo Release (Summer 2009)
ACE will expand to airports, bringing the e-Manifest capability for trucks into the multi-modal environment, and incorporating the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).
Exports and Mail Entry Writing System (Summer 2010)
ACE will expand to incorporate the Automated Export System (AES) and Mail Entry Writing System.
CBP's ACE Exchange presentation on ACE available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/ace/reports_briefings_events/ace_ex_conf/ace_exchange_four/ace_exchange_v/importer/overview_importers.ctt/overview_importers.ppt.