CBP said it's working on revising its regulations to centralize and automate its single transaction bond process, said Paula Connelly, a trade lawyer based in Burlington, Mass. Connelly attended a June 27 meeting on the single transaction bond process at the Port of Boston, which officials said is one of a series of CBP port visits to gather feedback from the trade on its plan to centralize the STB process. Bruce Ingalls, director of CBP’s Revenue Division, hopes to see implementation of the centralized system by the summer of 2014, Connelly said.
CBP headquarters will take a close look at each Importer Security Filing (ISF) liquidated damage claim submitted by the ports to decide whether to move forward on the enforcement action, said Craig Clark, who oversees the ISF program at CBP as vessel program manager. Beginning July 9 and for at least the next year, there will be a “pre-initiation review” at headquarters of all liquidated damages to make sure they “actually rise to the level of violation,” he said. Clark spoke during a National Industrial Transportation League Webinar on ISF filing June 25.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP plans to hold a webinar at 2 p.m. June 20 to update the trade on the benefits of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise and trade transformation, the agency said in a CSMS message. The webinar will feature Maria Luisa Boyce, senior advisor for private sector engagement from CBP’s Office of Trade Relations and Allen Gina, the assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of International Trade, it said. The webinar also will share information on key programs related to security and trade facilitation including the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), Customs—Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), and Importer Self-Assessment (ISA). Agency officials will also discuss the Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise and providing several key steps of the transition to the CEE.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP's long-expected decision to ratchet up enforcement of Importer Security Filing (ISF), commonly known as 10+2, came following the successful transition to Automated Commercial Environment: e-Manifest (M1) for vessels as well as a recent decline in ISF compliance, said Craig Clark, who oversees the ISF program at CBP as vessel program manager. The agency recently announced plans to initiate full enforcement of the program, which requires advance cargo information submission to CBP within the 24 hours before the cargo is finished loading onto an ocean vessel going to the U.S., starting July 9 (see 13060712).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
A new funding strategy for CBP will allow for continued development of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the agency said in the May version of its monthly update on ACE. ACE entered into an operations and maintenance phase in FY 2012 as it lacked the funds for further ACE development. CBP now says it and the Department of Homeland Security have developed a funding strategy "that gets us a good part of the way toward our goal of completing core trade functionality in ACE within approximately three years," it said. This new strategy "covers new development through FY 2014, and additional O&M cost reductions and internal funding sources are anticipated to cover FY 2015-2016 needs," said CBP. An agency spokeswoman didn't return a request for comment.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) software vendors provided some insight on the use of ACE products and best methods for communicating with CBP in a recent survey conducted and released by the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations Trade Modernization Subcommittee. Among challenges cited by vendors in making the change to ACE, 48 percent of respondents listed customer interest while 43 percent named budget as an issue.