The timing for ACE programming related to changes to drawback from the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act is uncertain due to a lack for funding to cover such programming, said Michael Cerny, a lawyer with Cerny Associates. CBP said in its most recent newsletter on drawback progress (here) that the agency discussed TFTEA and ACE during an April 13 teleconference and that similar calls will occur biweekly with a drawback-focused working group that helps advise CBP on drawback in ACE. Cerny, who is also in the drawback working group, said by email that "the trade has concerns about there being enough time for CBP to complete that programming in order to accept claims" by Feb. 24, 2018, as required in TFTEA (see 1603010043).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan met with National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America President Geoffrey Powell and NCBFAA lobbyist Jon Kent last week to discuss ACE, the trade group said in a May 1 email to members. Among the topics discussed were "ACE Post CORE," the Border Interagency Executive Committee and "the ACE Downtime Policy," the NCBFAA said. Powell also met with Valerie Neuhart, acting director of CBP’s Office of Trade Relations, "to discuss NCBFAA's role at the Customs Trade Symposium," and with Jeff Nii, director of the CBP Interagency Collaboration, to discuss the BIEC and partner government agency data requirements, it said. Stuart Schmidt, compliance manager at UPS Supply Chain Solutions and a member of the NCBFAA Customs Committee, also attended, the association said.
House lawmakers decided on omnibus legislation (here) that would keep the government funded through Sept. 30 and avoid a government shutdown if signed into law by the end of the day May 5. The bill would fund CBP at $11.4 billion in discretionary funds, $200 million less than President Donald Trump’s request (see 1703160022) for the fiscal 2017 supplemental spending legislation. The bill proposes to fund CBP’s trade and travel operations at $4.1 billion, $300 million less than Trump’s request. Within that CBP portfolio, the legislation proposes to fund the CBP Office of Field Operations’ targeting operations at $149.8 million, a $17.9 million jump over the supplemental budget request, and the Office of Trade at $192.3 million, $4.7 million less than Trump’s request.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP posted an introduction (here) and other resources about ACE secure data portal accounts. The introduction includes information on what certain types of ACE portal accounts can do and see. CBP also posted a guide for applying for an ACE portal account (here) and managing such accounts (here).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
CBP deployed "an optional Perishable Goods Indicator (PER)" in ACE, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). "The purpose of this indicator is to provide the Trade filer the opportunity to electronically mark the Cargo Release submission as covering perishable merchandise," CBP said. "The presence of the PER indicator enables the CBP system to bring the shipment to the attention of CBP in the Port of Entry as 'PERISHABLE.'" The indicator won't have any "effect on the system processing of the Cargo Release transaction and its presence does not append or supersede existing CBP policy with respect to the handling of perishable shipments," the agency said.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Thirteen associations expressed support for the confirmation of CBP commissioner nominee Kevin McAleenan in a letter (here) to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore. The groups said McAleenan is fully familiar with the ongoing rollout of ACE and regulations drafted pursuant to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. The groups requested that the Senate “expedite” his confirmation process to “solidify the political leadership” of the agency at a time when significant trade enforcement and policy are central to the overall White House agenda. A spokeswoman for the committee's GOP majority didn't comment, but Hatch noted the CBP commissioner vacancy during a committee meeting April 25, and asked for the Trump administration to submit nominees for open trade positions promptly, pledging to move them through his committee "quickly."