The ways in which in information and documentation is submitted by U.S. companies and processed by the various U.S. government agencies for the import and export clearance of merchandise has been undergoing a dramatic evolution since 2014 and is nearing completion. Imports and exports of merchandise from the United States have been transitioning from a paper-driven clearance regime to a “single window” electronic system. The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) serves as this “single window” enabling importers and exporters to interface with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal government agencies (i.e., “Partnering Government Agencies” or “PGAs”) that have a hand in the admissibility of imported merchandise and authorization of exports from the United States. Instead of manually submitting often duplicative information and paper-driven data to multiple agencies as part of the cargo release processes, companies and their agents now electronically submit a single, harmonized set of data and upload required documentation into ACE which can then be accessed and processed by the various PGAs. In addition, the PGAs will be able to communicate with importers and exporters directly through ACE on any additional information requirements, scheduling and execution of examinations and inspections, cargo releases, protests and enforcement actions.
The “single window” story began with the enactment of the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006, which first established the concept for the electronic collection and processing of international trade data by the various federal agencies. In February 2014, President Obama signed the Executive Order on Streamlining the Import and Export Processes for America’s Businesses (Executive Order 13659), which mandates the completion of the various PGAs’ integration into ACE by December 31, 2016. As a result, CBP rolled out a phased implementation plan to transition the PGAs to ACE by the December 31st deadline.
