The International Longshore & Warehouse Union caucus delegates voted unanimously on August 21, 2008 to send the proposed contract to the membership for their review and vote. (ILWU notice available at http://contract2008.org/.)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message stating that at approximately 1:30 p.m. EDT on August 25, 2008, ACE users experienced slow system response when logging into and navigating in ACE. The issue impacted both CBP and Trade users. CBP users could access trip processing and Trade users could submit manifest via the ACE portal but experienced slow system response. The issue is now resolved and users can now access ACE without experiencing slow system response. (CSMS message announcing the fix, 08-000176, dated 08/25/08, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17195&page=&srch_argv=08-000176&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby; CSMS message announcing the problem, 08-000174. dated 08/25/08, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17193&page=&srch_argv=&srchtype=&btype=&sortby=&sby)
CBP has issued a CSMS message announcing that as of 8:27 p.m. EDT on August 22, 2008, the problem with ACE users being unable to access ACE and users not being able to submit e-Manifests via ACE was corrected. CBP notes that during that time e-Manifests could be submitted via EDI. (CSMS message on service being restored, 08-000172, dated 08/22/08, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17191&page=&srch_argv=08-000172&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby; CSMS message announcing the problem and ACE service delays, 08-000168 and 08-000165, dated 08/22/08, available at http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17187&page=&srch_argv=08-000168&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby and http://apps.cbp.gov/csms/viewmssg.asp?Recid=17184&page=&srch_argv=08-000165&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its "ACE on the Road" event schedule, which includes the following event:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of August 18, 2008. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, tobacco, certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (CBP's weekly TRQ/TPL commodity report available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
During the August 7, 2008 meeting of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC), CBP officials discussed the potential impact on the trade of the new Lacey Act plant and plant product import declaration requirements1 that were recently enacted as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a memo on the increase of the fiscal year 2008 refined sugar tariff rate quota limit by a total of 272,155 metric tons (none of which is for specialty sugars) and extension of the refined sugar quota period through December 31, 2008. (See ITT's Online Archives or 08/11/08 news, 08081115, for previous BP summary.) (QBT-08-519, posted 08/13/08, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/qbts/qbt2008/08_519.ctt/08_519.pdf)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is scheduled to deploy Phase 2 of "ad hoc" capabilities as an enhancement to the ACE reports on September 6, 2008, according to CBP's updated "ACE Workplan Schedule."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of August 11, 2008. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, tobacco, certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (CBP's weekly TRQ/TPL commodity report available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its "ACE Workplan Schedule," which provides a list of the changes and/or fixes to the Automated Commercial Environment and other systems it interfaces with that were/are scheduled for deployment from July 26 through September 6, 2008.