Members of the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) reiterated calls for the agency to take an informed compliance approach to implementation of the Automated Commercial Environment, and possibly delay enforcement for certain capabilities that are set to become mandatory at the end of February, at the group’s quarterly meeting held Jan. 13 in New Orleans.

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

CBP's Assistant Commissioner for the Office of International Affairs Charles Stallworth recently retired, said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske during the Jan. 13 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection meeting. Mark Koumans, deputy assistant secretary for international affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, will handle Stallworth's work for the near future, said Kerlikowske. CBP also recently removed "acting" from Debbie Augustin's title, meaning she's now Executive Director of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) business office, said Kerlikowske.

The Agricultural Marketing Service is issuing a final rule to allow for electronic filing of shell egg import requests through the CBP Automated Commercial Environment and by email (here). The rule is meant to streamline the import process for table eggs, hatching eggs and inedible liquid egg by requiring that applications for inspection be submitted electronically, the AMS said when it proposed the rule (see 1506090024). The proposed rule is meant to comply with President Barack Obama's executive order that called for completion of the International Trade Data System by the end of 2016. No comments were filed on the proposal, said the AMS.

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

Major concerns persist among the trade community about readiness for the fast-approaching Feb. 28 mandatory use date for Automated Commercial Environment entry summary and cargo release. Despite the reprieve granted by CBP when it delayed the deadline from Nov. 1, the ACE adoption rate remains low. A constant stream of programming tweaks from CBP has made it impossible to finalize software, and as-yet-undeployed capabilities make it difficult even for some filers that want to file in ACE to make the switch to the new system, said several involved in implementation from the industry side in recent interviews.

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America remains worried about the number of software updates related to the Automated Commercial Environment so close to the mandatory use date, it said in a "open letter" to importers and exporters on Jan. 8 (here). Just as CBP decided to push back some of the mandatory use dates for ACE in response to readiness concerns for the system (see 1509010017), "we face the same decision now," said the trade group. The agency must immediately cease all software changes for processes that will be required in ACE as of Feb. 28, said the association.

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

CBP posted a new chapter of the CBP and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) for drawback entry summary. The new CATAIR chapter (here) "is intended to provide the conventional trade interface information for the ACE-version of a Drawback Entry Summary filing," it said.

CBP posted more ahead of Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on Jan. 13. The documents include issue papers on the Border Interagency Executive Council (here), international trade engagement (here), and Automated Commercial Environment (here). There's also executive summaries from the Trade Modernization (here) and One U.S. Government at the Border (here) COAC subcommittees. The agency posted other materials for the meeting earlier this week (see 1601070026 and 1601060028).