The Automation Subcommittee of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC) is asking the international trade community to provide feedback on cost savings and cost avoidance related to the implementation of Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted the January and February 2010 Trade Support Network monthly activity reports, which summarize the activity of all of the TSN Committees and Subcommittees for those months.

During the February 25, 2010 Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC) meeting, a CBP official and COAC's Trade Facilitation Subcommittee provided an update on account management (also known as management by account and account based processing).

CBP has issued a CSMS message stating that AD/CVD cases converted from ACS to ACE will not have messages displayed when searching for a case. To view the messages for converted cases, the user must conduct an AD/CVD message search in the portal using only the seven digit case number followed by the wildcard (e.g. A570949*) and one additional search filter. (CSMS 10-000068, dated 03/15/10, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17850&page=&srch_argv=&srchtype=&btype=&sortby=&sby)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has previously announced that effective April 1, 2010, it will begin requiring the use of the new (June 2009) version of the CBP Form 7501 (entry summary).

Both aggregate and detail ACE Cargo Exam Reports only contain data through fiscal year 2009 (through September 30, 2009), according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection CSMS message.

The Transportation Security Administration has sent a request for renewal of an information collection on air cargo security requirements to the Office of Management and Budget. The information collection is made up of five categories: security programs, security threat assessments (STA), known shipper data via the Known Shipper Management System (KSMS), cargo screening reporting, and evidence of compliance recordkeeping. TSA requests comments on the renewal request by April 5, 2010. (D/N TSA-2004-19515, FR Pub 03/04/10, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-4443.pdf)

The Department of Homeland Security has recently released its fiscal year 2011 budget request, which contains specific funding requests for U.S. Customs and Border Protection automation modernization, including funding for the Automated Commercial Environment, International Trade Data System, and Automated Commercial System.

CBP has issued a CSMS message stating that it is aware that issues exist with Cargo Exam Reports and ES Compliance Reports. This is due in part to transitioning from one system to another. CBP is working on identifying new sources of data for the impacted reports. Aggregate and detail Cargo Exam Reports only contain data through CBP fiscal year 2009. These issues will impact the ES Compliance Reports as well as the importer and filer Discrepancy Quick View Reports. CBP will update the ACE Portal News Tab when additional information becomes available. (CSMS 10-000059, dated 03/02/10, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17841&page=&srch_argv=10-000059&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby)

The Department of Homeland Security has recently released its fiscal year 2011 budget request, which contains specific funding requests for U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiatives such as Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, Secure Freight Initiative, intellectual property rights enforcement, screening, etc.