CBP announced it is testing a new “combined filing” feature in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot, in a notice (here). The new feature will allow eligible importers and brokers to file both entry and Importer Security Filing (ISF) data in a combined transmission to CBP, it said. Testing of combined filing is set to begin Feb. 10, and will run until Nov. 1, 2015, when the ACE Cargo Release pilot is scheduled to end.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP will expand its test of the Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) to include some additional electronic filings required by the Environmental Protection Agency, said CBP in a notice (here). CBP said the test will allow for electronic filings of EPA Notices of Arrival (NOA) of Pesticides and Devices. The new capability will satisfy the EPA requirements for formal and informal consumption entries, the agency said. The updated pilot will begin no earlier than April 15, it said.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Jan. 26-30 in case they were missed.
CBP will allow non-automated facilities to release cargo based on-screen printouts from filers, said CBP on Jan. 26 (here). The change, made "on an interim basis," is meant to help with the transition to a paperless environment through the Automated Commercial Environment Cargo Release program, said CBP. CBP also released a list of cargo release capabilities by mode (here).
CBP will add some new supported forms within the third phase of its Document Image System (DIS) pilot in the Automated Commercial Environment, said CBP in a notice (here). DIS allows for electronic submission of documents during the import process required by multiple agencies. The agency began the third phase last year (see 14062419).
The Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking importers, exporters and customs brokers for participation in a pilot program to test the filing of FWS-required documents through the Automated Commercial Environment. Like other agencies, FWS is required under the Obama administration’s single window initiative to transition its cargo release functions to ACE’s PGA message set by Nov. 1. At that time, ACE filers will be required to file FWS data electronically through ACE using the Automated Broker Interface, rather than using eDecs or paper, said the agency in a public bulletin issued Jan. 26 (here).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP processed $2.4 trillion in trade, up 4 percent from 2013, during 2014, said the Department of Homeland Security in a release of agency statistics (here). CBP also collected $34 billion in duties during 2014, up 2 percent from the previous year. CBP said it conducted more than 23,000 seizures of goods, with a total retail value of $1.2 billion, for intellectual property right violations. The agency also processed 25.7 million cargo containers, 4.5 percent more than in 2013, said CBP. DHS also notes that new capabilities within the Automated Commercial Environment has led to better accuracy of trade-submitted data and an increase in the number of entry summaries filed in ACE, rather than the legacy system, to over 40 percent. South Texas ports of entry also saw an increase in trade processing, said CBP in a separate release (here). CBP's Laredo Field Office processed a total of $162 billion in imports in fiscal year 2014, a 14 percent increase over the nearly $142 billion imports processed in FY 2013, the agency said.