U.S. Customs and Border Protection is announcing that Participating Government Agency (PGA) indicator programming has been added to ACS to enhance its ABI HTS Update and Query functionality. However, no tariff numbers have a PGA indicator yet (for those tariff numbers that call for one), so there will be no "VL" or "WL" records sent out to indicate that a tariff number has a PGA requirement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has newly posted the recordings and presentation slides for two webinars, one on ACE Courtesy Notice of Liquidation (October 12, 2011) and the other on Practical Suggestions to Mitigate Cargo Security Risks (October 6, 2011). These webinars are part of a series of live trade outreach webinars that CBP is hosting. Each webinar is recorded and made available for subsequent on-demand viewing. Topics of previous webinars available for viewing include the role of the broker, account management restructuring, ACE Post Summary Corrections, simplified entry and financial processes, etc. Another announcement regarding the ACE Courtesy Notice Report was announced in CSMS #11-000265, available here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued notice that it is programming ABI for the new .3464% Merchandise Processing Fee for formal entries that is effective as of October 1, 2011. The agency states that it will give the trade approximately one week’s notice before ABI starts requiring the higher MPF. Officials expect to generate bills for the period that began on October 1 through the day before the higher rate is implemented, to collect the difference between the old and new rates for that time period.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials stated at the September 2011 annual NCBFAA conference that the agency is currently using the Document Imaging System internally for emailed single transaction bonds. However, they are working with select individuals to develop a plan to expand its use, and hope to issue a Federal Register notice announcing a pilot in a few months on regularly accepting STBs via DIS.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an updated version of its "Using the ACE Reports Tool" user guide document, which provides instructions for importer, broker and surety ACE portal account types on running ACE reports for truck carriers. With this update, CBP has added AM-100 to the list of available reports contained in Appendix A of the document. AM-100 (for importers only) is the ACE Courtesy Notice of Liquidation report which displays liquidation information for two weeks in the future, similar to information previously mailed to the importer on the CF 4333A.

During the September 22-23, 2011 Trade Support Network plenary meeting in Arlington, VA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Director of Cargo Automation Coordination stated that e-Manifest: Ocean and Rail (M1) will be deployed in parallel with existing Automated Manifest System (AMS) processing. Additionally, new M1 User Screens will be deployed to three pilot ports within the next few weeks.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has provided information on what it views as the benefits and process improvements that can be expected with the future implementation of Cargo Release in ACE. CBP states that the release process for legitimate cargo will be facilitated through process improvements, including, among other things, the creation of a single window for import data transmission, reduced redundant data requirements, paperless updates, and templates of repeated entries for trusted traders.

The President is scheduled to sign the bill that renews the Andean Trade Preference Act/Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act program on October 21, 2011. The ATPA/ATPDEA provision, which takes effect 15 days after that date (approximately November 5), will renew ATPA/ATPDEA retroactively from February 13, 2011 through July 31, 2013. This notice describes the renewal provisions in H.R. 3078 and the process that CBP is expected to follow for refund requests for entries made during the lapsed period.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued CSMS #11-000253 to announce that the 2011 ACE Customer Satisfaction Survey is being extended until midnight October 26, 2011 instead of October 19. CBP encourages all importers, brokers, carriers and other trade community users of the system to take the voluntary 5-10 minute survey, so that it can formally gauge the areas where ACE is doing well and where improvement is needed. A large response will ensure that there is greater statistical validity to the results. ACE portal users can access the survey here.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently posted the presentations used at the September 22-23, 2011 Trade Support Network plenary meeting in Arlington, VA. The postings include presentations given by CBP, APHIS, FDA, FSIS, USCG and the TSN Trade Leadership Council (TLC). This ITT summary is being reissued as an editing error dropped the text on M1.