Issue 409, July 22, 2003
In response to the Trade Act of 2002 set forth by Congress, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to publish its proposal regarding cargo security regulations on Wednesday, July 23rd. Once published, the trade will be given the opportunity to comment. You will be able to find the official proposal (FR Pub 07/23/03) in the Federal Register at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont03.html listed under "Customs and Border Protection" on Wednesday, July 23. In the meantime, here are a few highlights:

Regarding Imports:

Ocean Import AMS:
No major changes are anticipated EXCEPT that within 90 days of the publication of the final rule, all ocean carriers and NVOCCs who choose to participate in AMS must be automated on the Vessel AMS system at ALL ports of entry in the U.S. where cargo will arrive.

Air Import:
CBP has distinguished between "close in" foreign areas and other foreign areas. "Close in" areas include ports of lading in North America, Central America, South America (north of the Equator), the Caribbean and Bermuda. Other foreign areas include all other points of origin. For aircraft departing from close in origins, shipment information must be transmitted electronically via Air AMS no later than the time that the wheels are up on the aircraft and it is enroute directly to the U.S.

For aircraft departing from other foreign locations, shipment information is required to be transmitted electronically via Air AMS no later than 4 hours prior to arrival of said aircraft in the U.S.

The express consignment carriers have an exception to the use of Air AMS as the data transmission protocol because they can obtain a permit to use a proprietary system to transmit data to CBP.

Rail Import:
Cargo to the U.S. data must be transmitted via Rail AMS no later than 2 hours prior to the arrival of the cargo.

Truck Import:
For truck cargo, there are a series of interim measures and transition proposals that will allow the use of existing programs (FAST, BRASS and PAPS). CBP has proposed that the data be submitted no later than 30 to 60 minutes prior to the arrival of the cargo.

Regarding Exports:

Ocean Export:
Data will need to be transmitted to Customs no later than 24 hours prior to sailing, and 72 hours in advance for licensed exports.

Air Export:
Data will need to be transmitted to Customs no later than 2 hours before scheduled departure

Rail Export:
Data will need to be transmitted to Customs no later than 4 hours prior to the connection of the locomotive to the train

Motor Exports (truck):
Data will need to be transmitted to Customs no later than 1 hour prior to the truck arrival at the border

For exports overall, the data transmission will be via Automated Export System (AES). Of special note, the proposed rules appear to be in support of keeping AES Option 4 in place. If you'll recall, Option 4 allows an exporter to file their shipment data within 10 days after export. Given the proposed security regulations to be published on July 23, CBP intends to scrutinize Option 4 export shippers more than they do already.

The proposed rules also allow for the exemption of export reporting as allowed in the Foreign Trade Statistics Regulations (FTSR). In other words, there will be no reporting for shipments to Canada (which are staying in Canada and are not licensed or ITAR controlled), or for shipments valued under $2,500.00, or for the other specific exemptions that are listed in the FTSR.

Again, go to http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont03.html on July 23rd to read the official proposal as posted.

Our contributing writers, Darlene Liskiewicz, Director U.S. Import Compliance and Regulatory Affairs and Ken Hughes, Corporate Manager Export Compliance, work for DHL Danzas Air & Ocean and can be reached at darlene.liskiewicz@dhl.com and ken.hughes@dhl.com respectively.

Please note that due to the complex nature of the subject matter, DHL Danzas Air & Ocean cannot be responsible for actions taken by the reader in reliance on the information contained herein without prior consultation with DHL Danzas Air & Ocean.