ITDS Board Reports Momentum in Data Sharing Efforts with Other Agencies
CBP and other agencies took major strides in FY 2013 toward improving trade data processing, said the International Trade Data System (ITDS) Board of Directors in a report to Congress. The statutorily required yearly report outlines progress on deploying a "single window" to automate Participating Government Agencies' (PGA) collection and processing of required import and export information. An increase in finished memorandums of understanding (MOU) between CBP and other agencies was among the notable updates since the previous report.
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There was "significant progress" made in FY 2013 as changes in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) program "have resulted in accelerating progress on ITDS and the development by CBP of a schedule for completing ITDS in 2016," the report said. The report includes detailed spreadsheets laying out ACE features by deployment date and by development increment. CBP in August released a revised schedule for ACE, electronic import and export manifest data be transmitted in ACE by May 1, 2015, all data associated with the release of cargo will have to be transmitted in ACE by Nov. 1, 2015, and for all filing by Oct. 1, 2016 (see 13080819).
New MOUs and Data Sharing
CBP completed nine MOUs with other government agencies over the past year, bringing the total number to 12, the report said. "Work on MOUs accelerated in FY 2013, although much work remains to be done," the board said. CBP added MOUs with Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Federal Maritime Commission, Office of Foreign Assets Control, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Transportation Security Administration, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report said.
CBP has also implemented the transfer of data it collects to other agencies’ electronic systems through Interoperability Web Services, the report said. The Food Safety Inspection Service, CPSC, USCG, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, NMFS, AMS, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are now getting data from CBP. Such data includes automated entry and entry summary data and manifest data, it said. CBP is now working to bring other agencies on board, including the Federal Communications Commission, the Office of Textiles and Apparel, the Food and Drug Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Budget Needs for ITDS Agencies Should be Considered
The report also includes two new recommendations for future work. "Any ITDS agency that anticipates resource needs necessary to implement ITDS functionality should make [the Office of Management and Budget] aware of those needs during the current budget preparation cycle," it recommended. At also advised ITDS agencies planning to use the PGA Message Set to complete plans for automating the paper forms so as to be ready to work with CBP.
Two recommendations were largely carried over from last year's report. One of those, which advised CBP and the Census Bureau to add new data elements within the Automated Export System, also now says those agencies "should explore ways to maintain and enhance export filing options for small and medium businesses while realizing cost savings." As it did in the FY 2012 report, the board recommended that ITDS agencies should complete any regulatory changes necessary to authorize them to collect data electronically and complete MOUs and Interconnectivity Security Agreements, noting that more agreements have been reached already and some regulatory work is ongoing.
CBP spent about $4.8 million of ITDS funds in FY 2013, with $2.8 million going toward the PGA Message Set, Document Image System, and Interoperability Web Services, and about $2 million on operational enhancements for ACE, the ITDS board said. The ITDS account, which is part of CBP's information technology account, had $26.2 million remaining at the end of the fiscal year and no new funds were request for FY 2014, the report said. CBP expects to spend $3.4 million on ITDS in FY 2014, it said. CBP doesn't expect to spend any of the ITDS on operational enhancement for ACE, a financial summary said.
The report reiterated the previous year's concerns that budget limitations have eliminated contractor support, forcing CBP to take those responsibilities despite being potentially unfamiliar with the ITDS. "Such tasks include planning changes in operations, implementing regulatory changes, and providing notices to the importing public," it said. "Failure to complete these ITDS basic functions soon will increase the risk that the expertise and knowledge necessary for these tasks will be lost to retirement and staff rotation." The ITDS Board "has been working with the National Security Staff, the National Economic Council, and the Office of Management and Budget to engage senior Executive Branch leaders from all ITDS agencies in order to ensure that ongoing efforts continue and accelerate," the report said.
CBP also continues to work on improving export data processing within the Automated Export System. "With the re-engineering of AES, the interfaces between AES and systems at the Departments of State and Commerce will be improved," it said. "Information on export licenses issued by each of these agencies will be transmitted electronically to CBP every day and stored in AES. Eventually, an interface is planned between USXPORTS, an automated 'single-window' export licensing application system." This will enable enhanced automated validation of all export licenses reported for each export transaction, the report said.