CBP is working on contingency plans for any disruptions that arise on its Feb. 28 mandatory use date for the Automated Commercial Environment, said Maria Luisa Boyce on Jan. 20 at a meeting of the Commerce Department’s Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness. The agency has set up a call with the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations on Jan. 21 so the COAC can provide guidance on plans for several areas, she said. COAC stressed the importance of contingency plans for the ACE deadline at a meeting held earlier this month (see 1601140031).

Participation in the Food and Drug Administration’s Automated Commercial Environment pilot continues to build, according to statistics given by FDA officials. Over 8,000 entries have been filed since the pilot began Aug. 19, up from 1,000 one month ago and 200 in early November (see 1511040067), representing 20,000 entry lines. Over 200 filers are now participating. FDA recently relaxed its requirements for filing in pilot, eliminating the need to prevalidate shipment data before sending it through ACE (see 1512110027). Sandy Abbott and Jessica Aranda, both of FDA’s Division of Compliance Systems, gave the update during a Jan. 19 webinar on the data elements required for filing entries of food in ACE.

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

CBP will "retire a significant number of infrequently used" Automated Commercial Environment reports, the agency said (here). CBP will remove the listed report categories (here) on Feb. 15 "as part of its effort to clean up ACE Reports and improve system usability," said CBP. Users can "maintain access to any of the reports scheduled for retirement ... by saving a copy of the report to either a 'Shared' or 'My Favorites' folders for future use," said CBP.

Entries and entry summaries filed on paper after Feb. 28 at the Los Angeles area ports will face delays, said Anne Maricich, acting director of field operations in L.A in a Jan. 15 public bulletin. As of Feb. 28, the Automated Commercial Environment will be available and electronic filing will be required in ACE, she said. The L.A. international airport, L.A./Long Beach Seaport and "outlying ports will give priority to processing all electronic entries and entry summaries," said Maricich. "Filers who submit paper entries will face delays in cargo processing, impacting the release of their shipments." Only 12 percent of "cargo" and 69 percent of entry summaries are being filed at the area's ports in ACE as of the end of 2015, said Maricich. Low levels of cargo release submissions is a source of some concern at CBP ahead of the ACE transition dates (see 1510190017 and 1601140031).

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan 11-15 in case they were missed.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative directed CBP to allow importers to send electronic images of an appropriate export visa from sub-Saharan beneficiaries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act when claiming preferential treatment for entries of textile and apparel products under the agreement, USTR said (here). USTR’s guidance specifically calls on the CBP commissioner to allow importers to provide an appropriate export visa submitted electronically via the Document Image System or other approved functionality in the Automated Commercial Environment or successor system. "A shipment still must be visaed by stamping an original circular visa, in blue ink only, on the front of the original commercial invoice," it said. The USTR directions modify 2001 instructions for implementing the use of ACE for eligible textile and apparel products that are entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption, said USTR.

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

CBP will begin an effort in February to encourage export filers to transfer over to the Automated Commercial Environment, said Cynthia Whittenburg, director of policy and programs at CBP’s trade office, at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) held Jan. 13 in New Orleans. Following deployment of Automated Export System functionality in ACE on Nov. 30 (see 1512010022), CBP hopes to shut down the Census Bureau’s legacy system “as soon as possible,” she said.

Between Feb. 28 and July, paper filing for Partner Government Agencies is allowed if PGA message set and the Document Image System are unavailable, said CBP in a CSMS message. All cargo release and entry summary transactions must be filed in the Automated Commercial Environment as of Feb. 28, though "filers may now begin submitting all cargo release transactions including these PGA requirements to ACE for CBP to review," it said. Between Feb. 28 and July, after which filing for a number of agencies will be required within ACE, PGA message set pilot participants may submit within the PGA message set, said. Filers may also file documents through DIS, said CBP. "If PGA message set and DIS are unavailable, the paper document may be submitted to the port office for review" and "a cover letter should be provided that includes the entry number, a point of contact, and phone number," said CBP.