ACE M1 for Rail and Sea to Allow "Holds" by Additional PGAs (New ITDS Documents on PGAs, SDS)

In ACE M1, Additional PGAs Will be Able to Place Holds on Rail/Sea Cargo, Etc.

When CBP implements ACE M1 (e-Manifest: Rail and Sea for advance cargo information purposes, which is currently scheduled for deployment in April-June 2009), PGAs that meet certain conditions³ are expected to have additional functionality for rail and sea cargo including (certain PGAs may not have all of this functionality):

• place holds directly on Bills of Lading (BOLs), containers and/or conveyances⁴
• request that CBP place a hold on a BOL or container
• refer BOL information to other PGAs
• access to manifest data

(One CBP source noted that only the Food and Drug Administration and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service currently have the ability to place holds on cargo.)

PGAs potentially eligible to place or request holds in ACE. CBP identifies the following PGAs as potentially eligible to place or request holds in ACE:

• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Food and Drug Administration
• Food Safety and Inspection Service
• Fish and Wildlife Service
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• National Marine Fisheries Service
• Bureau of Ocean and International Scientific Affairs
• Office of Foreign Missions
• U.S. Coast Guard

According to the presentation, multiple agencies will be able to place holds on a BOL and BOLs will not be released until all holds are cleared.

PGAs potentially eligible to refer BOL information to other PGAs. CBP's list of PGAs identified to refer BOL information to other PGAs includes the PGAs listed above, as well as the following additional PGAs:

• Agricultural Marketing Service
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics
• Federal Communications Commission
• Federal Maritime Commission
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Maritime Administration
• Office of Foreign Assets Control
• Army Corps of Engineers

(PGAs potentially eligible for access to manifest data are not named in CBP's presentation. The presentation also discusses the policy conditions for PGA holds.)

Additional Functionality Available to PGAs in Future ACE Releases

According to CBP, PGAs will have the following new functionality with the deployment of future ACE releases:

• increased access to entry summary and finance related data including: entry summary details; duties, taxes, and fees; prior disclosure and post summary corrections;
• improved override code processing for the trade to proactively set Census override codes;
• enable collaboration between Import Administration users and CBP for maintaining antidumping/countervailing duty cases;
• use of PGA licenses, permits, certificates for cargo release process;
• access to vessel entrance and clearance data; and
• access to correlated entry and manifest data.

3 New PGAs Added Since February 2008, for Total of 46 PGAs

ITDS is already partly operational and agencies are able to obtain detailed information through the ACE Secure Data Portal. However, CBP notes that not all agencies are taking full advantage of that information.

Agency participation in ITDS was initially uneven, but has since accelerated as a result of (i) the October 2006 enactment of the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act, (ii) the September 2007 recommendations and recognition from the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety, and (iii) Office of Management and Budget Directives on ITDS participation issued in 2007.

The following agencies have joined ITDS as PGAs since February 2008: Defense Contracts Management Agency (DCMA), Energy Information Administration (EIA), and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), bringing the current total of ITDS PGAs to 46.

Hundreds of PGA Users Have Access to ACE Secure Data Portal

Nearly 500 users from 27 PGAs currently have access to the ACE Portal. Certain PGAs are able to obtain, in near real time, detailed information about any importation reported through an electronic filing.

(Most information currently required by CBP from importers (entry summary data) is transferred daily from CBP's current processing system to the ACE "Data Warehouse," which ITDS agencies can access through the ACE Portal.)

CBP adds that the recently deployed ad-hoc reporting capability is expected to provide PGAs with more robust reporting capability.

Other Documents Recently Posted to ITDS Web Site

In addition to the presentation on PGA integration into ITDS, other documents, many of a more technical nature, have been recently posted to the ITDS web site, including (documents hyperlinked):

ITDS Newsletter - Third Quarter 2008. This issue of the ITDS newsletter discusses the recent ACE/ITDS integration activities by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the launch of the PGA Ambassador training, and highlights of presentations made at the September 2008 Trade Support Network meeting by various PGAs.

ITDS training on ACE reports.Advanced ACE Web-based Training is now available on the ITDS Learning Management System (LMS) to all PGA ACE users who require ACE reports.

Sample PGA form for viewing ACE Portal data. A sample letter to CBP for PGAs to use to request access to view entry, entry summary, manifest data via the ACE Portal.

Presentation, diagrams on the ITDS Standard Data Set. A PowerPoint presentation on completing the definition of the ITDS SDS, which provides information on trade/CBP concerns, the SDS work that has been completed, restructuring of the SDS report, etc. Also posted are SDS diagrams.

SDS trade report. The September 2008 SDS trade report provides information on the various ITDS data elements.

Profile of Product Information Committee dictionary capabilities. A document on the Product Information Committee's dictionary capabilities profile. (ITDS defines a dictionary as a collection of entries defining a product's distinguishing features.)

ISO standards for product characterization.A presentation on the International Standards Organization's standards for product characterization. The standards addressed in this presentation are ISO 8000 (Data quality), ISO 29002 (Exchange of characteristic data), and ISO 22745 (Open technical dictionaries and their application to master data).

Product Information Committee update.A PowerPoint presentation on the objectives, principles, participants, terminology, high level project plan, progress to date, next steps, and operational concept for the ITDS Product Information Committee.

September 24, 2008 and October 1, 2008 meeting minutes from the Product Information Committee.

¹ITDS is a "single-window" system for electronic filing of import and export documentation. ITDS is not a separate computer system, but a suite of functions to be provided through ACE. The ITDS "single-window" will provide for a single electronic filing rather than separate filings to multiple agencies. Another goal of ITDS is to enhance Federal agencies' ability to target risky cargo, persons, and conveyances.

²given at the September 2008 meeting of the Trade Support Network.

³as determined by the Operational Agreement between CBP and each PGA. CBP notes that no Operational Agreements have been finalized to date.

⁴CBP notes that the trade will receive a notification when a "hold" is placed on their BOL. Notifications will be sent to the filer and any secondary notify parties to include terminal operators and designated brokers. Notification will inform the trade which agency placed the hold and the type of hold placed on the BOL.

CBP's presentation on PGA integration into ITDS (dated 09/11/08) available at

http://www.itds.gov/linkhandler/itds/tsn/pga_documentation/pga_status.ctt/pga_status.ppt.

ITDS documents available at http://www.itds.gov/xp/itds/whats_new/.