The National Association of Foreign Trade Zones (NAFTZ) continues to have major concerns with the schedule for mandatory use of the Automated Commercial Environment, it said in a Dec. 8 letter to CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske (here). A "general lack of understanding" related to FTZ reporting among the Partner Government Agencies adds to the trade association's worries for ACE, it said. The NAFTZ made a number of its concerns known in a letter last month that called for a delay to parts of the ACE rollout (see 1511190017).
Lawmakers finished up work on a conference version of long-debated customs reauthorization legislation that combines the underlying concepts of the Senate- and House-proposed customs bills, said Conference Committee members on Dec. 9 (here). Notably, the compromise legislation (here) would impose the ENFORCE Act's firm deadlines on CBP to investigate claims of antidumping and countervailing duty evasion, and would require new regulations on customs broker identification of importers, under threat of penalty. A new provision in the legislation -- absent from either chamber's original bill -- would hold CBP to stricter deadlines for reliquidating entries. The bill could go to a vote on the House floor as early as Dec. 11, a congressional staffer said. The lawmakers also released a summary (here) and joint explanatory statement (here) on the bill's provisions.
There’s still space for importers, customs brokers and software developers that want to participate in pilots of Environmental Protection Agency filing in the Automated Commercial Environment, said Roy Chaudet of EPA’s Office of Information Collection during a webinar held with CBP on Dec. 8. Among pilots that are limited to nine participants, tests for imports of non-road vehicles and engines and pesticide notices of arrival currently have around two each, and a pilot on hazardous waste exporters has four, said Chaudet. Ongoing pilots with unlimited participation include imports of on-road vehicles and engines and ozone depleting substances.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Food and Drug Administration is making changes to processes for participation in its Automated Commercial Environment filing pilot and modifying “the data that are required at the time of entry for admissibility,” said CBP in a CSMS message dated Dec. 9 (here). Effective immediately, FDA has removed the requirement for submitting a data element “template” for pre-validation, although it will still provide the template to assist filers and will “provide guidance and support” to “answer any questions,” said the message.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The Food and Drug Administration is “very close” to recognizing Canada as having an equivalent food safety system, with a determination possible in the next few months, said Dominic Veneziano, director of FDA’s import division, at a seminar hosted by the American Bar Association Dec. 7 in Washington. The move would largely exempt food imports from Canada from the requirements of FDA’s Foreign Supplier Verification Program.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP updated its list of Automated Commercial Environment technical issues on Dec. 1 (here). The "list is to inform ACE filers and other interested parties of the existing technical issues and when they are scheduled to be fixed (where possible)," said CBP in a recent CSMS message (here).