FTZs get breathing room in ACE filing transition

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has agreed to the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones’ request to delay the electronic FTZ admission (e214) in the Automated Commercial Environment to Dec. 9.    Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told attendees at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America’s (NCBFAA) annual Government Affairs Conference on Monday that the agency will delay the transition of the electronic foreign trade zone admission (e214) from its legacy system to the Automated Commercial Environment platform to Dec. 9.
   McAleenan said the decision to reschedule the e214 in ACE was “based on industry feedback,” as well as the disruption faced by many FTZs after the recent hurricanes in the Texas Gulf coast and Florida.
   National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ) President Erik O. Autor, who attended the NCBFAA conference, told the commissioner that the delay was “welcome news,” and that like CBP, “we want it done right.”
   The NAFTZ asked CBP in a Sept. 7 letter to delay the planned Sept. 16 transition of the Application for Foreign-Trade Zone Admission and/or Status Designation (e214) from the agency’s legacy Automated Commercial System to ACE due to “a disturbing number of systemic problems and new issues that need to be addressed before the rollout of e214 in ACE.”
   “The NAFTZ pledges its continued full and complete cooperation to Commissioner McAleenan and his team as they work to resolve any and all outstanding issues prior to the new transition date,” Autor added in a statement.
   The new ACE post-release delivery schedule is:
     • Sept. 16 – Non-ABI entry summary/lineless (for CBP only), duty deferral and Importer Security Filing.
     • Dec. 9 – Statements, e214, and Manufacturer ID creation.
     • Feb. 24, 2018 – Reconciliation, ACE core drawback and Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA) drawback, liquidation and Automated Surety Interface (ASI).