The planned budget cuts of sequestration set to hit the U.S. government March 1 will likely slow down the processing of ruling requests from those involved in international trade, said Al Gina, assistant commissioner in the CBP Office of International Trade. Gina spoke Feb. 28 at the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization conference in Arlington, Va. CBP has previously said it expects some slowdown to trade processing at the border and potentially some cutbacks on intellectual property rights enforcement and its efforts toward the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) as a result of sequestration.
CBP is surveying importers, brokers, carriers about use of the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency said in a CSMS message. The survey will help CBP formally gauge the areas where ACE is doing well and where improvement is needed, the agency said. The survey is (here).
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 19-22 in case they were missed.
CBP posted a February version of its list of trade benefits for participants in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) by industry segment. Specific benefits are listed for Customs brokers, importers, self-filers, sureties, carriers, trade account owners (TAOs), as well as all users with portal accounts, for (1) ACE Secure Data Portal, (2) Periodic Monthly Statement, (3) ACE Reports, (4) Cargo Release/Simplified Entry, (5) Entry Summary Filing (6) Document Image System, (7) Post Summary Corrections, (8) e-Manifest: Truck and (9) e-Manifest: Rail and Sea.
CBP resolved technical problems when processing Automated Commercial System and Automated Commercial Environment entry summaries, said CBP in a CSMS message.
The planned budget cuts set to take effect March 1 would immediately force CBP to cut back on overtime and will likely result in longer wait times, the agency told industry stakeholders during a Feb. 22 conference call to discuss sequestration. According to the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), while uncertainty remains on the details of how CBP's operations will continue following the cuts, the agency was anxious to provide its plans for international trade processing.
CBP released a list of its near term priorities for development for the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The agency document said work on three items previously mentioned to be priorities, the Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set, automated corrections/deletions, and initial entry summary edits, will begin with "agile pilots." CBP also listed some priorities planned for the second half of the year, including PGA message set integration and entry integration with in-bond.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 11-15 in case they were missed.
CBP posted a record of Feb. 6 changes to the ACE ABI CATAIR (Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements). The changes were to Appendix G (ACE ABI Condition Codes and Narrative Text), the ACE ABI CATAIR Error Dictionary, and the Entry Summary Create/Update chapter. The change log is (here). The full CATAIR is (here). The Appendix G is (here). The ACE ABI CATAIR Error Dictionary is (here). The Entry Summary Create/Update Chapter is (here).
CBP announced the location and agenda for the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC), March 6 at 1 p.m. (ET) in Washington, D.C. Online registration for webcast and in-person participation is available through March 4, said a Feb. 19 notice.