Freight intermediaries get ACE update

Patrick Burnson, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 12/3/2007

SAN FRANCISCO—A compliant but skeptical audience was on hand for a presentation on “Automated Commercial Environment” (ACE) given here last week by Louis Samenfink, executive director for the U.S. Customs & Border Protection cargo systems program office. Compliant, because as licensed brokers and forwarders, they had to be. Skeptical, because ACE has been in development for nearly a decade.

ACE is the commercial trade processing system being developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to facilitate legitimate trade while strengthening border security.
 
“Some of you may be asking why shippers should even need a broker now since Customs is doing all the documentation and shippers must provide us with all the data.” Samenfink joked.
 
Kidding aside, the ACE Exchange Conference attracted hundreds of intermediaries keen on learning the newest nuances of this project-in-development.

“One thing we can tell you for sure,” declared Samenfink, “is that ACE is not a substitute for your own record-keeping. This is particularly true where a post-summary declaration is concerned.”

Indeed, this aspect of ACE generated the most dialogue with importers here. One shipper asked if this might lead to an unintended consequence:

“Are you not encouraging us to wait until the last possible moment before giving you an entry and post-release information?” asked one shipper. “If we submit that information early, and it’s wrong, we are going to be investigated even if we give you a post-summary. What’s the advantage for us?”

Samenfink responded by saying that Customs will act “judiciously.”

“We don’t want to have a negative impact on your business processes,” he said. “It is quite the opposite. This is designed to expedite cargo throughput and to keep us all on the same page.”

Entry summary and post-release information is scheduled for implementation next year. Along with new accounting procedures, it is meant to enable the agency to facilitate trade while safeguarding the nation’s physical and economic security.

Mary Jo Muoio, president of the National Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (NCBFAA), told LM that this kind of ACE outreach was encouraging.

“To their credit, Customs has been listening to us over the years to reduce or eliminate some of the more redundant features in their program,” she said. “We are concerned, however, that the roll-out and pace of these new changes may be too aggressive.”