The Federal Communications Commission published a notice (here) in the Federal Register on the agency's plans to waive its Form 740 certification requirements for radio frequency (RF) devices imported between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2016. (see 1510200035). The temporary waiver allows time for the FCC to consider its proposal to eliminate importer declaration requirements entirely (see 1508110024), without imposing new burdens on importers that would otherwise be forced to file on paper once CBP's Automated Commercial Environment is required, the FCC said.

BALTIMORE -- CBP’s rewrite of its Part 111 customs broker regulations is again on hold until the agency completes regulatory changes required for implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, said CBP Assistant Commissioner Brenda Smith at the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium on Nov. 4. The effort on broker regulations involves many of the same resources as the ACE regulatory changes, currently CBP’s top priority, meaning a proposed rule on Part 111 is at least six months away, she said.

BALTIMORE -- CBP will no longer allow substantial changes to Automated Commercial Environment filing requirements for the three partner government agencies (PGAs) set for full implementation on Feb. 28, said Brenda Smith, CBP assistant commissioner-international trade, at a press conference held Nov. 4 at CBP’s East Coast Trade Symposium. However, the agency may still have to implement fixes for bugs and broken policies, she said. An official from one of those agencies, the Food and Drug Administration, later said changes may still be necessary to correct issues or account for new deployments in ACE that may affect FDA.

The International Trade Data System gives the Bureau of Industry and Security control to update Export Control Classification Numbers, create new license type codes and edit both the ECCNs and type codes in the Automated Export System, said BIS Director of Technology Evaluation Gerard Horner at a Nov. 3 Update conference seminar. In lauding ITDS and touting BIS’ response to industry concerns, Horner also said BIS is “ready to build” a BIS license documentation module in AES.

BALTIMORE -- As efforts to facilitate trade and enhance border security continue into the future, a key factor in their success will be the trade industry’s and the government’s willingness to invest resources, said government and industry officials during a panel discussion at CBP’s East Coast Trade Symposium on Nov. 4. Continued automation and international harmonization will require a commitment from industry and the government to change business practices and educate stakeholders, they said.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Oct. 26-30 in case they were missed.

The government of Canada recently issued the following trade-related notices for Nov. 2 (note that some may also be given separate headlines):

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:

CBP released a new version of its Automated Commercial Environment deployment schedule (here). The new edition, dated Oct. 28, includes numerous changes from the last version.

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America called for further CBP caution ahead of the planned Feb. 28 transition date for use of the Automated Commercial Environment, the trade group said in an "open letter to importers and exporters." The agency is "challenged in having too few trade technical resources that are available to support the transition into the new system, restricting the ability of brokers to successfully implement the ACE system," the group said in the letter (here). The letter also includes a list of what the NCBFAA considers to be criteria for a successful implementation date.