The coming transition to the Automated Commercial Environment may prove difficult for all involved, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said in a letter of appreciation to the trade industry released by the agency (here). CBP is making "important progress" as the first of three ACE-related deadlines approaches, he said in the Jan. 29 letter (here). As of May 1, CBP will require ACE for all electronic manifest filing. "We recognize ACE is driving changes to business practices and requires major investment on your part," he said in the letter. "The next year will be challenging for industry and government, as we fully transition to ACE." Kerlikowske encouraged companies not yet using ACE to make the transition "immediately" in order to be prepared for required use of ACE. The agency will require ACE for all electronic cargo released and entry summary filing beginning Nov. 1. Agency officials recently discussed some of the operational challenges related to the transition (see 1502100055).

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

A furniture importer is currently pursuing two federal court cases related to the assessment of antidumping duties on an entry where it was incorrectly listed as importer of record, International Trade Today has learned. Following a CBP ruling that held it liable for payment of the 216.01% duty applicable under the AD duty order on wooden bedroom furniture from China (see 1501290028), Lifestyle Furniture filed suit in November at the Court of International Trade to challenge CBP’s denial of its protest. Just under a month later, Lifestyle sued the customs broker that apparently made the mistake on entry documentation, Nestor Reyes, in North Carolina Middle U.S. District Court.

Expeditors and CBP will work together on a number of coming roundtables to discuss preparation for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), said Expeditors in a press release (here). CBP will hold a number of such roundtables around the country ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline for required use of ACE for entry summary and cargo release information.

CBP is requesting comments by March 20 on an existing information collection for applications to use the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). CBP proposes (here) to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours.

International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 9-13 in case they were missed.

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) presented a litany of recommendations related to export licensing, at the committee’s Feb. 11 meeting in San Francisco. Many of the recommendations were related to alignment of license requirements and enforcement across ports and agencies. Highlights of the recommendations from COAC are as follows:

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

CBP needs to ensure the messages Partner Government Agencies send through the Automated Commercial Environment are easy for the trade community to understand by providing adequate detail on which agency is involved and standardizing PGA messaging, said the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations’ 1 U.S. Government at the Border (1USG) subcommittee in recommendations presented to the agency at the Feb. 11 COAC meeting in San Francisco.

The transition of cargo release to the Automated Commercial Environment in November is going to be marked by a transition period that will require some heavy lifting from the trade community, said CBP officials at a National Association Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ) seminar on Feb. 10. While CBP hopes to get everyone to the point where they can exchange electronic messages, it remains to be decided how automation will work at the operational level for entities like terminal operators, truck drivers, and container freight stations that currently stamp paper, said James Swanson, CBP director-cargo security and controls.