CBP’s June 15 mandatory use date for filing electronic entries and entry summaries in ACE is tight, leaving little time to implement the latest FDA changes to its ACE programming and smooth out remaining issues, said customs brokers and software developers shortly after the agency announced the deadline. As detailed in a Federal Register notice (here), CBP will as of June 15 require filing in ACE of FDA entries and entry summaries under entry types 01, 03, 06, 11, 23, 51 and 52, the Automated Commercial System “will no longer be a CBP-authorized [electronic system] for purposes of processing these electronic filings,” said the agency. Though CBP said it will monitor implementation, CBP should ease in enforcement to give the trade community time to adjust, said one broker.
The Census Bureau should not create a new “used electronics indicator” data element in the Automated Export System, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in comments on the agency’s recent proposed rule (here). Doing so would place on forwarders “the burden of explaining this new requirement to the exporting community as well as seeking out and collecting additional information related to the nature of the product being exported,” said the NCBFAA. Forwarders are “not well equipped” to ascertain “whether the goods being exported are new or used" or "indeed whether goods that have never been used” fall under that definition because they have been resold, it said. Census proposed adding the new data element, and make other changes to the Foreign Trade Regulations, in a notice issued March 9 (see 1603080033).
The U.S. government is seeking over $3 million in penalties from a customs broker it says profited by underpaying duties owed by clients. In a complaint filed May 9 at the Court of International Trade, the government said Kenneth H. Chew collected the full amount of duties owed on entries he filed on behalf of his clients, but actually paid lower amounts of duties to CBP by falsifying entry documentation and pocketed the difference.
A "broad array" of importers are "greatly concerned" with a CBP rulemaking that will revise the agency's regulations on imports made by forced or child labor, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America in an email to members. The rule changes are a result of the customs reauthorization law which repealed the "consumptive demand" exemption to the ban on imported products made by forced labor (see 1603010043). "There are a great number of unanswered questions about how the forced-labor provisions will now be enforced," said the NCBFAA. Among the open issues are how an importer will defend an allegation and CBP's plans for targeting, the trade group said. CBP didn't comment, but recently released a set of frequently asked questions on the issue (see 1604220017). CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske is scheduled to testify for the Senate Finance Committee about customs reauthorization implementation on May 11.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service began a "transitional period" during which FSIS is selecting a "subset of imported shipments of Siluriformes fish and fish products for reinspection, which will include testing for species, chemical residues, and Salmonella," said the agency in a CBP CSMS message (here). The transitional period, April 15 through Sept. 1, 2017, is meant "to ensure that importers, customs brokers, and other stakeholders have ample time to prepare and comply with FSIS’s mandatory reinspection requirements," said FSIS. Under the agency’s final rule (see 1511270024), which takes full effect Sept. 1, 2017 (see 1512020024), FSIS is assuming regulatory responsibilities for catfish and other siluriformes from the Food and Drug Administration. "For rail, truck, and air shipments, FSIS may target a shipment of interest by the time of arrival or CBP release, whichever is later," it said. "For ocean shipments, a decision will be made within 48 hours from the time of entry filing."
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association recently posted to its website presentations from its annual conference held April 18-20 in Tucson, Ariz. The presentations (here) cover the following topics:
The U.S. is pushing for advance ruling procedures based on its own rules, a 48-hour target for release of goods, and a process which would set a four-hour guideline for clearing expedited shipments under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, according to documents claimed to be leaked from TTIP's customs and trade facilitation text. While neither the U.S. nor EU confirmed authenticity of the documents, both sides criticized conclusions made based on the texts. The customs text is one of 13 chapters leaked, according to Greenpeace Netherlands, which posted the texts (here).
The National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking input into the development of a trusted trader program for seafood imports, it said (here). Recommended by an administration task force in 2015 (see 1503160016), the trusted trader program “will provide benefits such as reduced targeting and inspections and enhanced streamlined entry into U.S. commerce for certified importers,” said NMFS. The program would be available for holders of International Fishery Trade Permits (IFTP) subject to recently proposed Seafood Import Monitoring Program documentation and recordkeeping requirements for high-risk seafood imports (see 1503160016), though NMFS is considering including other importers and members of the supply chain, such as customs brokers. NMFS said it will hold public webinars on the development of the program on May 4, May 10 and June 6. Comments are due June 28, and should address the following:
As progress continues on ACE and the International Trade Data System, the conversation is shifting to "what we're going to be able to see stemming from this new major IT capability," said Christa Brzozowski, Department of Homeland Security deputy assistant secretary, Trade Policy, Foreign Investment and Transport Security. The government will be looking for ways to "institutionalize" the gains made and "embed these principles and policies at the national level," she said at the April 27 meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC).
CBP should announce mandatory ACE filing dates “as soon as possible” for any agencies or entry types for which mandatory filing dates have not yet been announced, said the Commercial Customs Advisory Committee (COAC) in a recommendation formally adopted at a meeting held April 27. Some importers surveyed say their brokers are waiting for the announcement of the deadlines, particularly for Food and Drug Administration data, before they start filing in ACE, while brokers need to know when agency data will be required so they can adequately plan their development and training efforts, said COAC members during the meeting.