Despite the recent delay in required use dates for the Automated Commercial Environment (see 1509010017), CBP will still only allow one day for live testing of several entry types, according to a new agency deployment schedule (here). The 11 entry types that may include quota merchandise -- including foreign-trade zone and warehouse entries and withdrawals -- will not be deployed until Feb. 27, according to the schedule.

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

CBP posted additional details on the agency's recently revised plans for transitioning to the Automated Commercial Environment (here). CBP decided to push back some of the mandatory use dates for ACE in response to readiness concerns for the system (see 1509010017). As part of the updated schedule, beginning Feb. 28, ACE will be required for electronic entries and entry summaries, as well as for Food and Drug Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Lacey Act data.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 24-28 in case they were missed.

CBP made some major changes in its timeline for requiring use of the Automated Commercial Environment, allowing for Automated Commercial System filing several months beyond the original mandatory use date, the agency said Aug. 31 (here). The original Nov. 1 deadline will now begin a "transition period" where use of ACE is "encouraged," with more ACE requirements phased in through July. The changes came in response to a number of industry concerns recently lodged with CBP (see 1507290066 and 1507150063), as well as shifts in resources related to the move to ACE for Air Manifest (see 1506110007). CBP said it still plans to finish the ACE transition by Oct. 1, 2016 (here), ahead of the completion of the International Trade Data System by the end of 2016, as required by a 2014 White House executive order (see 14021928).

The Food and Drug Administration’s pilot test of its partner government agency (PGA) message set in the Automated Commercial Environment began as scheduled on Aug. 19, said an agency spokesman. The pilot, which is currently open to entries of “medical products” at the ports of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Otay Mesa, has already been “active” in Philadelphia, “where a number of pharmaceutical imports have been admitted into U.S. commerce through the new system,” he said. FDA has said it plans to start its pilot with pharmaceutical products before expanding to entries of medical devices and eventually all other FDA regulated products (see 1504220072). The agency issued a notice soliciting participants for the pilot on Aug. 27 (see 1508260014).

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

CBP is working to fix processing errors that affected Automated Commercial Environment cargo release status notifications, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). The problems occurred Aug. 21-25, it said.

CBP plans to begin the second phase of Partner Government Agency pilot programs to test filing in the Automated Commercial Environment on Sept. 2, CBP said in a CSMS message (here). The second phase will include an expansion of the ports involved, the agency said. During the first phase last week, Food and Drug Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration entry data transactions were "successfully transmitted, accepted and processed" in ACE, said CBP.

CBP is seeking pilot participants to test Food and Drug Administration data filing and release through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), said CBP in a notice (here). The FDA partner government agency (PGA) message set pilot will test the submission of electronic "data elements required by the FDA’s cargo admissibility process under the auspices of ACE for those commodities regulated by the FDA that are being imported or offered for import" into the U.S., said CBP.