CBP has hopes for modernization on several fronts, including for automation of import and export processing and revenue collection, for this year and the coming years, said agency officials during a panel at the East Coast Trade Symposium March 7. The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and related International Trade Data System continue to be a linchpin in CBP's modernization efforts, they said. The role of the CBP import specialist will be changing in coming years as work toward modernization moves forward, said Acting CBP Commissioner Thomas Winkowski.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Gil Kerlikowske as CBP commissioner by voice vote on March 6, in a move that ensures a Senate-confirmed commissioner will lead CBP for the first time in nearly five years. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, along with some industry leaders, praised the confirmation.

CBP will restart its policy of finding a continuous bond insufficient if the agency gets back mail sent to the bond principal, said Roanoke Trade in an alert. The agency told the Customs Executive Surety Committee "that they will re-instate their returned mail process" and that "CBP’s bond team will render continuous bonds insufficient when CBP receives returned mail from the bond principal," the alert said. CBP will flag bonds insufficient on Tuesdays, starting with April 8 and Roanoke Trade, "through its surety account ACE portal, will monitor our customers’ continuous bonds and will work with those customers affected by this process," the surety said. "Bonds rendered insufficient for returned mail can be re-instated by submitting a bond rider and CBP Form 5106 to CBP’s bond team using the subject line, “RIDER IR#”. If only the mailing address is being changed, CBP will accept a CBP Form 5106 only."

The Senate should quickly schedule a vote to approve Gil Kerlikowske as CBP Commissioner in order to enable CBP to address a number of challenges, said 28 industry and delivery associations in a Feb. 28 letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. A confirmed commissioner would allow for progress on developing regulation on the air cargo advance screening program, implementing the Automated Commercial Environment and the International Trade Data System and continuing broader efforts to facilitate trade, the letter said.

CBP added 14 airports to the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot program, the agency said in a CSMS notice listing the new airports. CBP recently said it was expanding the pilot program to include other modes of transportation beside air (see 14013112). The additional airports are:

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Members of the trade community unveiled a new set of “master principles” for government regulation of exports at the Feb. 20 meeting of the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC). The “Master Principles for a One U.S. Government at the Border Cooperation for Exports,” developed by the COAC export subcommittee, envisions increased cooperation between the government and the trade and between the government agencies themselves. It also urges streamlined processes for exporters like a single window and a single government point of contact to address concerns related to all government agency requirements.

CBP sees President Barack Obama's Feb. 19 executive order calling for the completion of the International Trade Data System (ITDS) by 2016 (see 14021928) as a "very important step forward," said Acting Commissioner Tom Winkowski while talking with reporters before the Feb. 20 Advisory Committee on the Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC) meeting. "It will eliminate the need for paperwork" and result in lowered transaction costs, he said. The order, which took about a year to get through the lengthy review process, "really sets the tone and puts a spotlight, if you will, on the importance of trade," said Winkowski. "We've got to get this up and running," he said.

President Barack Obama's Feb. 19 executive order calling for the completion of the International Trade Data System (ITDS) by 2016 (see 14021928) continued to garner support. “This Executive Order will be beneficial to improving our supply chain efficiency and moving goods and services that cross our borders,” said Scott Davis, CEO of UPS, in a press release (here). “This change will be particularly meaningful to our small and medium-sized customers that depend on global trade to grow their businesses and reach the 95 percent of consumers that live outside U.S. borders.”

President Barack Obama issued an Executive Order establishing a deadline for the completion of the long-awaited International Trade Data System (ITDS) “single window” for filing trade information required by numerous government agencies, the White House said Feb. 19. The order (here) is meant to propel necessary data sharing agreements among the agencies and align ITDS with the timeline set for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), former CBP officials said.