U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be working on important fixes to deployed ACE functionality this summer, CBP said in an update on planned ACE capabilities for the year. The major categories of fixes for trade capabilities include Reports, Forms and other Entry Summary-related issues, as well as Truck Manifest, said CBP.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced May 25 that it is planning a number of Webinars during the summer of 2012 to solicit comment and input on all facets of the customs broker regulations (19 CFR Part 111). This is part of CBP’s Role of the Broker Initiative, meant to update the relationship between the customs broker and CBP.
May 31-June 3 IFFCBANO Conference, "Capturing the Tide Understanding and Capitalizing on the Cycles in the International Marketplace," Marriott Grand Hotel, Point Clear, AL -- www.iffcbano.org/conference.htm
The list of tariff numbers for the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement's sugar tariff rate quota were posted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The notice lists 48 HTS Chapter 17 - 21 tariff numbers under HTS 9822.08.01 for sugar that is within the TRQ restraint level, adding that above the TRQ level, the normal "column 1" rates apply.
New activity is described in three areas of ACE development (reports, exports, and liquidation) in the Trade Support Network's Monthly Committee Report for April 2012. Members of the Account Management Committee and the Broker Account Subcommittee provided 15 recommendations for ACE reports, including making user fee breakouts available. The Automated Export (AE) Task Group and the MMM, Export, and ITDS Committees worked on ACE automated export user requirements. The Liquidation Committee reported that web-based bulletin notice of liquidation remains under review in the Office of Regulations and Rulings.
The annual update of Version 3.0 of the World Customs Organization Data Model, due in October, will not produce significant changes to the basic structure of the overall data model and "efforts are made to ensure that Versions 3.1 and 3.2 are compatible with subsequent versions," said Satya Prasad Sahu, WCO technical officer-compliance & facilitation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted an updated version of its spreadsheet of ACE ESAR A2.2 (Initial Entry Types) programming issues.
The passage rate for for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection license exam in April 2012, is expected to be especially low, according to industry and government sources. One industry source said the passage rate may be as low as 1 percent, though CBP wouldn't confirm that, saying the numbers would be out next week. The issue was briefly addressed during the May 22 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting in Savannah, Ga.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted an updated listed of frequently asked questions on the Centers of Excellence and Expertise. CBP officials said during the May 22, 2012 COAC meeting another update is expected shortly. The questions and answers are:
The Commerce Department said 41 companies and organizations are recipients of the 2012 President’s “E” Award, the highest U.S. government recognition a U.S. entity may receive for supporting export activity. The “E” Award recipients are contributors to the President’s National Export Initiative (NEI) goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015.