ORLANDO, FLA. – CBP's Office of Regulations and Rulings is "preparing a number of proposed amendments" to customs broker regulations in 19 CFR Part 111, said CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske while speaking at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America on April 21. Kerlikowske also lauded the movement of just-introduced customs legislation.

Drawback modernization, an increase in the de minimis level to $800, and an exemption from duties for container residue are components of the customs reauthorization bill set for inclusion in the package of trade legislation coming together in Congress, according to a summary of the draft bill from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah (here). The customs reauthorization bill, introduced in the Senate (here), would also provide for enhanced trade enforcement, including databases of new importers and importer of record numbers, the ability for CBP to share unredacted samples of articles suspected to infringe intellectual property rights, and timelines for formal CBP investigations of antidumping and countervailing duty evasion. Highlights of the summary, which was provided by Hatch in anticipation of a markup scheduled for April 22 (see 1504200054), are as follows:

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

Lawmakers introduced trade preference renewal legislation that will include the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Generalized System of Preferences and two tariff preference levels for imports from Haiti as part of a wider trade push. Those renewals and other trade bills are expected to progress alongside Trade Promotion Authority, introduced April 16, said Congressional aides. Though some details are still being worked out, a customs reauthorization bill is also expected to be part of the package, said the aides.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for April 6-10 in case they were missed.

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

CBP is seeking participants in a new working group to inform its development of the Automated Commercial Environment for non-Lacey Act commodities regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The working group will comprise members of APHIS-related industry, software developers, and APHIS and CBP representatives, said CBP in a CSMS message (here). Participants will review data elements required in the APHIS partner government agency message set in ACE, as well as the impact of the transition to ACE on business processes. The working group will hold two three-hour conference calls per week for four weeks. Importers and software developers interested in participating should email the relevant CBP and trade community working group leads by April 16, said CBP (here).

CBP posted a "list of all agency forms or data required at time of entry or entry summary filing that must be electronically submitted" in the Automated Commercial Environment as of Nov. 1. The list (here) includes information on forms and data requirements by associated agency, program/commodity, and includes related status for pilots, working groups, and technical documentation. It also shows whether the forms will be submitted via the PGA Message Set or Document Image System (DIS). Filing in ACE will be mandatory for electronic entries and entry summaries starting Nov. 1. CBP and other federal agencies "are working to ensure that any forms/data required at time of entry or entry summary are supported in ACE" by Nov. 1, said CBP.

CBP's slowness to write policies for automation as the agency moves quickly to deploy new capabilities is one area of concern ahead of the coming Automation Commercial Environment deadlines, said Amy Magnus, A.N. Deringer's director of customs affairs and compliance. Magnus, who was recently chosen to be on the next CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations, discussed ACE on a March 31 panel at the Northeast Trade and Transportation conference hosted by the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade in Newport, R.I. "With automation, there are changes in processes," she said. "With changes in processes, there really should be updated policies to go along with it. And updated policies in written form so that we aren't guessing, so everybody knows what the rules are." While CBP should be applauded for moving quickly on the agile deployment of ACE "they sometimes are not as quick to roll out written policies and procedures around that automation," she said.

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet April 24 at 9 a.m. in Washington, CBP said in a notice (here).