The Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Nov. 27 proposed rule to amend import inspection regulations for meat, poultry, and egg products would allow for electronic submission of import inspection applications, foreign inspection certificates, and foreign establishment certificates through the Public Health Information System (PHIS) Import Component. But FSIS is proposing other changes that will affect importers. The agency is more strictly defining the time frame for prior notification of imported products, ceasing to accept foreign inspection certificate replacement guarantees for entry into the U.S. when the certificate has been lost or contains errors, and said it will work with CBP to monitor “failures to present” for import reinspection. Comments on the proposed rule are due Jan. 28.

In order to facilitate the roll out of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), CBP needs to complete the edits to ACE, said the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America in a White Paper it submitted to Commissioner Alan Bersin and then again to Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar outlining the position of the NCBFAA and the 900 companies it represents. It said the top priorities must be implemented before CBP even thinks about putting an end to ACS. NCBFAA said the top priorities include:

CBP recently added document imaging capabilities to the Cargo Release/Simplified Entry pilot program, the agency said in two new documents summarizing the pilot program. As a result, participants can now provide documentation to CBP and Partner Government Agencies (PGAs) by email, said CBP. The Simplified Entry pilot, which was recently expanded to additional companies and ports, is the first phase of Cargo Release in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

CBP posted documents on changes to the ACE ABI Customs and Trade Interface Requirements (CATAIR).

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

CBP announced the location and agenda for next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC), Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. (ET) in Washington, D.C. Online registration for webcast and in-person participation is available through Nov. 30, said a notice in the Federal Register Nov. 16.

The September transition to Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) M1 for rail and sea has "highlighted a necessary policy change that CBP has implemented to gain greater control over in-bond shipments," said CBP in its October ACEopedia. The agency will now require the arrival of the full shipment before a subsequent in-bond movement, the agency said. The change is a result of a three programming edits related to the transition from AMS to ACE and were meant to better track in-bond movements, CBP said in a recent set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs.)

The Agriculture Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will soon be using manifest hold functionality in the Cargo Release Entry System to accommodate ACE eManifest: Sea and Rail, said CBP in a CSMS message.

CBP posted documents on changes to the ACE ABI Customs and Trade Interface Requirements (CATAIR).

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