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.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a May 2012 package of test questions for Automated Export System participants to be transmitted to CBP within an agreed upon time frame for operational certification. The long test is available here, the short test here. Such tests must be taken by self-programming exporters, brokers, forwarding agents, vendors and service centers.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection released the following documents ahead of the May 22, 2012 Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting scheduled for Savannah, Georgia:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is considering ways to leverage Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) and offer a simplified entry process to ACAS participants by integrating with the Simplified Entry initiative, said CBP Acting Commissioner David Aguilar during testimony before a House May 17 hearing on Customs issues .
May 22 U.S.-China Business Council panel on Current Issues in US-China Trade, 8:30 am, Davis Wright Tremaine, Seattle, WA -- https://www.uschina.org/info/programs/
The "Basic Guide to Exporting" by the National Custom Brokers and Forwarders Association of America is now available as an e-book, it said. The reference book, with more than 40,000 copies now in circulation, can be downloaded to any e-book reader for about $7, it said.