COAC Recommends FWS Adopt Trusted Trader Program, Reduce Tariff Schedule Flagging in ACE
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee approved recommendations on filing of Fish and Wildlife Service-regulated commodities in ACE, including on the agency’s upcoming pilot and a desired trusted trader program, at its Aug. 23 meeting in San Diego. The recommendations, which include short-term advice for the FWS ACE pilot as well as long-term guidance on FWS filing in general, were put forth by a COAC FWS working group created after the agency suspended its ACE pilot in January in response to industry concerns (see 1701190011). FWS has said it will take the recommendations into account when it updates its ACE implementation guide in October (see 1708160036).
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Some of the longer-term recommendations are intended to address industry concerns about the multitude of tariff schedule provisions flagged for FWS filing (see 1611140019). Additional tariff breakouts should be requested to “have fewer tariff numbers flagged for FWS and still allow FWS to collect necessary information,” the COAC said. New tariff provisions should separate domesticated specimens from non-domesticated specimens, shellfish and fishery products for human and animal consumption, and animal from non-animal products. In the meantime, FWS should “work with CBP to explore flagging only those [Harmonized Tariff Schedule] HTS numbers which require a response, and are in direct proportion to FWS’ high risk HTS numbers,” the COAC said.
The COAC also recommended that FWS create trusted trader program for importers. Participants in the “Compliant Trader” program should not be required to provide proof of a claim on entry documentation that a product is not subject to FWS declaration requirements, the COAC said. FWS should also create a registry process similar to that adopted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission so that importers can reference SKUs already submitted in an FWS registry when filing in ACE.
The COAC also recommended that FWS adopt the “hold intact” approach used by the Food and Drug Administration, allowing importers to obtain a conditional release from CBP to move cargo from the port of entry to another location of the importer’s choosing and hold the cargo intact until FWS grants release. FWS should also participate in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) electronic permitting exchange, issuing and receiving CITES permits from other participating countries.
The FWS ACE pilot is currently scheduled to begin anew on March 1, 2018, with testing in the certification environment to start earlier, on Jan. 10, 2018, said Jill Birchell, special agent in charge of FWS Region 8, in remarks at the COAC meeting. In its shorter-term recommendations, the COAC said that the pilot should include small, medium and large importers, and should exclude type 06 entries, the latter due to their “complexity,” said Madeleine Veigel of Expeditors International, who led the working group. FWS should also increase its outreach efforts, and develop an online tool to help traders determine whether a product is subject to FWS regulation, the COAC said.