The Importer Security Filing (ISF) reports for the month of May 2014 will be delayed in getting posted to the Automated Commercial Environment Portal, said CBP. The reports should be posted to the ACE Portal the week of May 16, it said.

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

The recently elected National Customs Brokers & Forwarders President Geoffrey Powell will work to engage members on coming changes to the Automated Commercial Environment and export control reform, he said to association staff, according to a NCBFAA press release. “CBP’s ACE drop dates are on schedule which means all members must be using it by November 2015 if they want to stay in business,” said Powell, who is president of C.H. Powell. “That’s why we are working with our Affiliate Association partners to initiate local outreach efforts in their areas to ensure that both their members and the software vendors serving them are ready for ACE.” Powell will also work with government agencies on ways to facilitate export activity as part the National Export Initiative and will help familiarize new exporters on the processes involved, he said.

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet May 22 at 1 p.m. in Miami, CBP said in a notice. Registration is available (here).

The CBP Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot will be expanded to include the truck mode of transportation, the agency said in a notice. The agency will seek new participants in the pilot program, which originally only applied to air transportation and now includes ocean and rail, it said.

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

CBP will begin to allow importers to certify Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot data elements through the transmission of the ACE Entry Summary, the agency said in a notice. The agency also added three new data elements that will be required in order to certify from ACE Entry Summary.

A recently started campaign is working to push back against momentum for changes at CBP that could lessen the need for individually licensed customs brokers. The campaign, called "See a Broker, Save a Broker," was started in response to coming capabilities within CBP's Automated Commercial Environment that would allow for expanded Remote Location Filing (RLF), potentially meaning a single broker's license is all that would be necessary for importers across the country. "The national permit coupled with full blown RLF not only threatens our profession through lost jobs and core missions to protect the revenue and borders by reducing the ranks currently enlisted in this shared responsibility, it also devalues the individual license holder through declining demand," the campaign said.

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

Coming regulatory changes at CBP will soon make the notion of district permits "a wholly irrelevant artifact," the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) said on its website. The NCBFAA recently made a point to make clear to its members that revisions to the broker permitting structure were in the works and industry engagement would be important (see 14042116) "While there appears to be strong sentiment to keep the current [district permitting system], that really is not an option," the group said.