INDUSTRY PREPARES ?CONCENSUS-BASED? ERP POSITION FOR U.S. CUSTOMS

INDUSTRY PREPARES CONCENSUS-BASED ERP POSITION FOR U.S. CUSTOMS    Leaders of the largest import-related U.S. trade groups have concluded two days of meetings in Washington developing a “concensus-based” position regarding the import entry reform process.
   U.S. Customs proposed revising its import entry process in December 1999. The agency and industry have spent the past several months analyzing the third draft of the so-called Entry Revision Project.
   At the industry-only meeting this week, the industry reviewed the response from Customs to its critique of the ERP III draft, issued at the Feb. 13-14 ERP meeting. The agenda covered the proposed “four-track” system for cargo release, periodic payment of duties, taxes and fees, semi-monthly statement option, and corrective period within entry summaries or Import Activity Summary Statements.
   “We came to a consensus in the room,” said Jon Kent, Washington representative for the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, one of about 35 executives from the various industry groups. “The next step is to get it down on paper, and then we’ll take our position to Customs.”
   A meeting has been scheduled between the industry and Customs in Washington on April 10-11.