CBP posted an updated set of Frequently Asked Questions focused on technical issues in the Automated Commercial Environment Cargo Release pilot program. Cargo Release, previously known as Simplified Entry, allows for filing of shipment information earlier in the import process and was recently expanded to include ocean and rail transportation modes in addition to air (see 14013112).
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The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. in Washington, CBP said in a notice.
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The CBP Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Cargo Release pilot will be expanded to include ocean and rail modes of transportation, the agency said in a notice. The agency will seek new participants in the pilot program, which previously only applied to air transportation, and add three optional data elements for rail and sea entry filers, it said.
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.
The Participating Government Agency (PGA) Message Set Pilot program is now in the "pre-testing" phase and production is not expected to begin until March, beginning with the Newark and Long Beach ports, said Roy Chaudet, who is the Environment Protection Agency's (EPA) lead on the joint pilot with CBP. The pilot was slated to start earlier this month, according to the Federal Register notice (see 13121219).
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The CBP single transaction bond (STB) accounting process suffered from deficiencies from 2000 to 2007 that resulted in failure to collect “substantial” antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese garlic, crawfish tail meat, canned mushrooms and honey imports, said Acting CBP Commissioner Thomas Winkowski in a Jan. 2 letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. The letter is a response to Wyden concerns expressed in letters to CBP over recent months over failure to collect the relevant duties. Some sureties are continuing to contest CBP demands for payment or have declined payment after reaching insolvency, said Winkowski.
CBP is telling the trade community it will put manifest holds on any cargo at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach that does not have an Importer Security Filing (ISF) 48 hours before arrival, according to alerts sent out by A.N. Deringer (here) and OHL (here), among others. The new "enforcement posture" was effective Jan. 20, CBP told the Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (here). The ISF program requires advance cargo information submission to CBP within 24 hours before the cargo is loaded onto an ocean vessel going to the U.S. CBP begin increasing ISF enforcement efforts in July (see 13062613) and discussed the increased use of manifest holds by CBP's Los Angeles/Long Beach field office in October (see 13100810).