The bulk of the remaining Automated Commercial Environment pilot tests of partner government agency (PGA) message sets will begin on Aug. 19, said Cynthia Whittenburg, CBP executive director-trade policy and programs, at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) held July 29 in Chicago. A total of 13 PGA message set pilots will begin on that date, including the Food and Drug Administration, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Lacey Act, National Marine Fisheries Service, and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, she said.

The CBP Los Angeles Field Office again extended interim work-around procedures in response to continued problems with the Automated Commercial Environment for air manifests. "While the overall air manifest environment is improving in performance, CBP is still trying to resolve issues," it said. "Until further notice," it will allow for carriers and Container Freight Station operators to accept Form 3461 signed by the broker "without fear of penalty for entries that have generated a paperless release (to include split shipments)," the field office said in a notice. The agency transitioned from the Air Automated Manifest System into the ACE on June 7 (see 1506110007). Carriers and CFS operators may also accept screen printouts of ACE cargo entry releases submitted by the broker, said CBP. "The printout should have at a minimum the shipment ID and quantity being released as well as clear identification of who presented the release information," it said. The carriers and CFS operators may also accept signed Form 7512 when the 1C or 1D aren't posted, it said.

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations made a number of recommendations to CBP meant to resolve industry concerns with the recently announced air cargo pilot for pre-departure Automated Commercial Environment export manifest filing (see 1507090011). The manifest work group within the COAC Exports Subcommittee recommended that CBP make changes to the timelines, data elements, and procedures for managing holds within the test. CBP legal staff should also be more closely in contact with the COAC Subcommittee when developing regulatory notices, it said. The COAC approved the recommendations at the July 29 meeting in Chicago.

The addition of house bill release capability to the Automated Commercial Environment would be a “fairly significant piece of programming” and CBP is considering temporary alternatives in the meantime, said CBP Assistant Commissioner Brenda Smith on July 29. CBP is looking for short-term fixes while it considers where development of the capability can be fit in “from a workload perspective,” she said at the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting.

A Federal Register notice announcing a Consumer Product Safety Commission pilot of electronic filing of certificates of compliance has been drafted and is currently under consideration by the agency’s five commissioners, said Carol Cave, CPSC assistant executive director-import surveillance, at the July 29 meeting of the CBP Advisory Committee of Commercial Operations in Chicago. If approved, CPSC now intends to begin the pilot in July 2016, five months later than earlier anticipated, she said.

CBP deactivated 199 port codes in the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). The deactivated codes (here) apply to non-cargo processing locations, CBP said. "At this time, cargo will not be able to be arrived and/or released from any of the identified Port Codes."

CBP has not formally recommended any change to the planned mandatory use date for Automated Commercial Environment cargo release and entry summary filing, said Brenda Smith, CBP assistant commissioner for the Office of International Trade. "We have not made a formal recommendation to the White House today," said Smith in a July 30 interview. The top lobbyist for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America recently said CBP has gone to the White House with a recommendation to extend the Nov. 1 deadline by as much as six months, and is currently awaiting a response (see 1507290016).

CBP should adopt a “phased adoption” schedule for implementation of Automated Commercial Environment entry summary and cargo release, delaying ACE requirements for partner government agencies and entry types that are currently still in the early stages of development, said the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations in recommendations adopted at a meeting held July 29 in Chicago. The agency should also adopt an “informed compliance” approach for entry summary and cargo release, holding laggards accountable but keeping the Automated Commercial System online as a fallback for filers having trouble with the transition, it said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is soliciting participants for its pilot of the ATF partner government agency message set in the Automated Commercial Environment, it said in a notice (here). Beginning on Aug. 19, the pilot will allow importers and customs brokers to submit ATF-required data elements, including program codes, category type codes, ATF category code, type codes and exemption codes, to CBP through ACE. CBP will then electronically transmit entry and release information to ATF. Requests to participate from importers and brokers may be submitted at any time before or during the pilot to Willliam Majors at William.Majors@atf.gov.

CBP updated the Automated Commercial Environment and Automated Commercial System to allow for Generalized System of Preference duty-free claims on July 29, the agency said in a CSMS message (here). The renewed GSP became effective on that date, meaning CBP is now accepting new GSP claims and will soon begin refund processing for GSP claims submitted after it expired in 2013 (see 1507210023).