CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

There are "delays in processing the ACE entry summaries for refund," CBP said in a Sept. 12 CSMS message directed toward "the trade community for 2017 tuna entry summaries (warehouse entry withdrawals or foreign trade zone (FTZ) etc.)" The issue applies to entries "filed in proper form and accepted for the tuna opening" and the agency "is working to get unliquidated entries processed," CBP said. "For all unliquidated summaries no action is required to request a refund. However, filer/brokers are advised to file a claim (i.e., Post Summary Adjustment (PSC) or protest as appropriate) on the importers behalf if liquidation is scheduled or if liquidated, to request duty refund."

CBP will release some new ACE Reports features on Oct. 7, the agency said on its website. "A new Entry Summary (ES) universe and several new ACE canned reports have been developed to consolidate data found in the legacy Account Management and ESM-10002 Entry Summary universes," it said. "The new universe and set of standard reports will provide users the ability to query a more robust set of data elements that have been normalized for both [Automated Commercial Services] and ACE sourced entry summaries."

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

CBP will deploy Manufacturer ID creation capabilities in its Dec. 9 ACE deployment, CBP said in a CSMS message. The agency announced Sept. 11 it would also push back the mandatory use date for e214 foreign-trade zone admissions to the same date (see 1709110024). The delays are "due to the aggressive 2017 hurricane season and concerns expressed by the trade community," it said. Deployment had been scheduled for Sept. 16.

Reconciling U.S., Mexican and Canadian de minimis levels, and lowering the U.S.’s current $800 level if necessary, could prove difficult within NAFTA renegotations, Jon Kent, a lobbyist for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, said Sept. 11 during the NCBFAA Government Affairs Conference. While some believe that raised de minimis levels are good for U.S. small businesses, Kent believes that’s a “fairy tale” that rapidly increased imports. “It chews up a lot of business,” Kent said of the U.S.’s now $800 de minimis level.

CBP will push back the mandatory use date for e214 foreign-trade zones admissions in ACE to Dec. 9, Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference on Sept. 11 in Washington. The delay of the deadline, previously set for Sept. 16, comes in response to concerns from industry, McAleenan said. The agency planned to make a formal announcement on Sept. 11, he said.

CBP will postpone until Dec. 9 the mandatory use date for e214 foreign-trade zones admissions in ACE, Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference on Sept. 11 in Washington. The delay of the deadline, previously set for Sept. 16, comes in response to concerns from industry, McAleenan said. CBP will make a formal announcement on Sept. 11, he said.

CBP is working on “bulletproofing” its information technology systems in the wake of availability issues for ACE during the week of July 31, CBP Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said in a Sept. 6 speech at the U.S. Air Cargo Industry Affairs Summit in Washington. The agency intends to put in place “additional redundancy” and “active failover,” he said. “We need to take the gold standard to the platinum level.” McAleenan has said the availability issues were the result of faulty hardware, not a programming issue or a cyberattack (see 1708230032). Separately, he said he expects to send rules formally establishing the Air Cargo Advance Screening Program for clearance from the Office of Management and Budget by the end of the month.

CBP and other agencies issued updated guidance on cargo processing affected by port closures caused by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. For weekly estimated entries receiving an error message due to the entry date being more than seven days from the filing date due to system downtime, “it may be best to adjust the elected date to match the current filing date and notify the port about the change as required,” CBP said. “Trade partners and CBP should make note in their records that this occurred to avoid post audit problems later.”