U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a general notice announcing the deployment schedule for its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Entry Summary, Accounts, and Revenue (ESAR A2.2) ACE entry summary capabilities test, including functionality specific to entry summary filing and processing of formal (type 01) and informal (type 11) entry summaries.

CBP has posted an updated quick reference to monitor TRQs and TPLs that are approaching the restraint limit or have filled the in-quota (low) rate. The list is divided into two sections - quotas that are at least 85% filled and quotas that are closed. (List, updated 03/03/09, available at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/trq_thresh_fill.ctt/trq_thresh_fill.pdf)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a notice announcing that when it introduces enhanced Automated Commercial Environment electronic cargo processing capabilities in spring 2009 (e-Manifest: Ocean¹), sea carriers will be able to use the broker download capability to facilitate communication and data sharing among carriers, brokers, and self-filing importers.

CBP has issued its weekly tariff rate quota (TRQ) and tariff preference level (TPL) commodity report as of March 2, 2009. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, tobacco, certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs, etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying apparel and/or other textile articles, the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc. (Weekly commodity report available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/commodity/)

On February 25, 2009 the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) sent a letter to President Obama advocating a "stimulus package for trade."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a CSMS message announcing a further delay in the deployment of ABI air in-bond functionality. The deployment is now scheduled for Spring 2009. CBP states that it will provide the deployment date as soon as it is available.

Recently posted to the International Trade Data System Web site is a notice summarizing the current and future benefits that the Foreign Trade Zones Board receives from the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted the comments of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC) on CBP's Trade Strategy for fiscal years 2009-2013.

Sources at U.S. Customs and Border Protection and a recent National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) webinar have provided an update on using the new Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) chapter¹ containingthe Participating Government Agencies (PGA) data set for submitting the Lacey Act Amendments declaration for imported plants and plant products.

CBP has posted a memorandum announcing a special import quota of 15,552,728 kg for upland cotton that is provided for in HTS Chapter 99, Subchapter III, U.S. Note 6 and is entered under HTS 9903.52.47. (CBP notes that this quantity is not subject to the tariff rate quotas in Chapter 52 Additional U.S. Notes 5 through 10.)