Updated Shipping Regulations Outlined by Embassy Attache

Truck crossing the U.S. - Canadian border. © Jim Lopes.

U.S. Consulate General Vancouver held a videoconference February 9 with the Customs and Border Protection representative at U.S. Embassy Ottawa to explain amendments to the Lacey Act, streamlining of Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) document review, and updates on Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and “10+2” Importer security filing.

Speaker Maureen Blanchard, who became Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Representative for Trade at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa in April, 2007, said information sessions such as this for manufacturers, shippers and customs brokers are designed to facilitate trade between the U.S. and Canada.

In her information session, Ms. Blanchard discussed:

• Amendments to the Lacey Act
  The Lacey Act amendments were included in last year’s omnibus farm bill, and are intended to stop international trade in illegally-harvested timber and products made from such timber.
  
  The April 1 enforcement will focus on “minimally processed” items such as rough lumber and veneers; Oct. 1 for items such as plywood and wood pulp, and April 1 for highly processed products such as paper. Enforcement will be phased in by Harmonized Tariff System numbers.
• Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)
  ACE’s single-window filing will allow the trade community to submit data required by all federal agencies for the clearance of cargo in one place. Over the next four years, ACE will expand to provide cargo processing capabilities across rail, sea and air and will replace the existing legacy manifest systems in use today. Future releases will result in further automation of entry summary processing and enhanced account management features.
• Importer Security Filing (ISF/”10+2”)
  CBP is scheduling seminars throughout the year and across the United States to help shippers understand the new Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements. This applies to maritime cargo only.
• Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)
  This supply chain security program has almost 9,000 certified partners, of which Canadian companies comprise about one-third.
  
  The annual C-TPAT Symposium will be held March 31- April 3, 2009 in New Orleans - ”Managing Risk in the Global Supply Chain” This symposium is open to certified members only an includes training workshops. Attendees should be individuals directly responsible for the implementation of the C-TPAT program throughout the organization’s supply chains

Please see the website:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/cargo_security/ctpat/supply_chain_seminar.xml A DVD of this session can be made available to trade/shipping groups upon request to PAVancouver@state.gov. Customs and Border Protection has an extensive website to help answer questions: http://www.cbp.gov.

And if your questions still are not answered, you can convey them to CBP Ottawa via PAVancouver@state.gov.