E7-6908. Advance Electronic Presentation of Cargo Information for Truck Carriers Required To Be Transmitted Through ACE Truck Manifest at Ports in the States of Vermont, North Dakota and New Hampshire

AGENCY:

Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to section 343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002 and implementing regulations, truck carriers and other eligible parties are required to transmit advance electronic truck cargo information to the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through a CBP-approved electronic data interchange. In a previous document, CBP designated the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Truck Manifest System as the approved interchange and announced that the requirement that advance electronic cargo information be transmitted through ACE would be phased in by groups of ports of entry. This document announces that at all land border ports in Vermont and New Hampshire and at the land border ports in North Dakota in which ACE has not yet been required, truck carriers will be required to file electronic manifests through the ACE Truck Manifest System.

DATES:

Trucks entering the United States through land border ports of entry in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire and at the ports of St. John, Fortuna, Ambrose, Carbury, Noonan, Dunseith, Sherwood, Antler, Northgate, Westhope, and Portal in the state of North Dakota, will be required to transmit the advance information through the ACE Truck Manifest system effective July 12, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. James Swanson, via e-mail at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002, as amended (the Act; 19 U.S.C. 2071 note), required that CBP promulgate regulations providing for the mandatory transmission of electronic cargo information by way of a CBP-approved electronic data interchange (EDI) system before the cargo is brought into or departs the United States by any mode of commercial transportation (sea, air, rail or truck). The cargo information required is that which is reasonably necessary to enable high-risk shipments to be identified for purposes of ensuring cargo safety and security and preventing smuggling pursuant to the laws enforced and administered by CBP.

On December 5, 2003, CBP published in the Federal Register (68 FR 68140) a final rule to effectuate the provisions of the Act. In particular, a new section 123.92 (19 CFR 123.92) was added to the regulations to implement the inbound truck cargo provisions. Section 123.92 describes the general requirement that, in the case of any inbound truck required to report its arrival under section 123.1(b), if the truck will have commercial cargo aboard, CBP must electronically receive certain information regarding that cargo through a CBP-approved EDI system no later than 1 hour prior to the carrier's reaching the first port of arrival in the United States. For truck carriers arriving with shipments qualified for clearance under the FAST (Free and Secure Trade) program, section 123.92 provides that CBP must electronically receive such cargo information through the CBP-approved EDI system no later than 30 minutes prior to the carrier's reaching the first port of arrival in the United States.

ACE Truck Manifest Test

On September 13, 2004, CBP published a notice in the Federal Register (69 FR 55167) announcing a test allowing participating Truck Carrier Accounts to transmit electronic manifest data for inbound cargo through ACE, with any such transmissions automatically complying with advance cargo information requirements as provided in section 343(a) of the Trade Act of 2002. Truck Carrier Accounts participating in the test were given the ability to electronically transmit the truck manifest data and obtain release of their cargo, crew, conveyances, and equipment via the ACE Portal or electronic data interchange messaging.

A series of notices announced additional deployments of the test, with deployment sites being phased in as clusters. Clusters were announced in the following notices published in the Federal Register: 70 FR 30964 (May 31, 2005); 70 FR 43892 (July 29, 2005); 70 FR 60096 (October 14, 2005); 71 FR 3875 (January 24, 2006); 71 FR 23941 (April 25, 2006); 71 FR 42103 (July 25, 2006), 71 FR 77404 (December 26, 2006) and 72 FR 7058 (February 14, 2007).

CBP continues to test ACE at various ports. CBP will continue, as necessary, to announce in subsequent notices in the Federal Register the deployment of the ACE truck manifest system test at additional ports.

Designation of ACE Truck Manifest System as the Approved Data Interchange System

In a notice published October 27, 2006 (71 FR 62922), CBP designated the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Truck Manifest System as the approved EDI for the transmission of required data and announced that the requirement that advance electronic cargo information be transmitted through ACE would be phased in by groups of ports of entry.

ACE will be phased in as the required transmission system at some ports even while it is still being tested at other ports. However, the use of ACE to transmit advance electronic truck cargo information will not be required in any port in which CBP has not first conducted the test.

The October 27, 2006, document identified all land border ports in the states of Washington and Arizona and the ports of Pembina, Neche, Walhalla, Maida, Hannah, Sarles, and Hansboro in North Dakota as the first group of ports where use of the ACE Truck Manifest System is mandated. Subsequently, CBP announced on January 19, 2007 (72 FR 2435) that, after 90 days notice, the use of the ACE Truck Manifest System will be mandatory at all land border ports in the states of California, Texas and New Mexico. On February 23, 2007 (72 FR 8109), CBP announced that, again after 90 days notice, the ACE Truck Manifest System will be mandatory at all land border ports in Michigan and New York, as well.

ACE Mandated at Land Border Ports of Entry in Vermont and New Hampshire and Identified Ports in North Dakota

Applicable regulations (19 CFR 123.92(e)) require CBP, 90 days prior to mandating advance electronic information at a port of entry, to publish notice in the Federal Register informing affected carriers that the EDI system is in place and fully operational. Accordingly, CBP is announcing in this document that, effective 90 days from the date of publication of this notice, truck carriers entering the United States through land border ports of entry in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire and through the ports of St. John, Fortuna, Ambrose, Carbury, Noonan, Dunseith, Sherwood, Antler, Northgate, Westhope, and Portal, in the state of North Dakota, will be required to present advance electronic cargo information regarding truck cargo through the ACE Truck Manifest System. Together with the ports announced in 71 FR 62922, use of the ACE Truck Manifest System will, 90 days from the date of publication of this notice, be mandatory in all land border ports in the state of North Dakota, as well as the land border ports in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire.

Although other systems that have been deemed acceptable by CBP for transmitting advance truck manifest data will continue to operate and may still be used in the normal course of business for purposes other than transmitting advance truck manifest data, use of systems other than ACE will no longer satisfy advance electronic cargo information requirements at the ports of entry announced in this document as of July 12, 2007.

Compliance Sequence

CBP will be publishing subsequent notices in the Federal Register as it phases in the requirement that truck carriers utilize the ACE system to present advance electronic truck cargo information at other ports. ACE will be phased in as the mandatory EDI system at the ports identified below in the sequential order in which they are listed. The sequential order provided below is somewhat different than that announced in the October 27, 2006, notice. Although further changes to this order are not currently anticipated, CBP will state in future notices if changes do occur. In any event, as mandatory ACE is phased in at these remaining ports, CBP will always provide 90 days' notice through publication in the Federal Register prior to requiring the use of ACE for the transmission of advance electronic truck cargo information at a particular group of ports.

The remaining ports at which the mandatory use of ACE will be phased in, listed in sequential order, are as follows:

1. All land border ports in the states of Idaho and Montana.

2. All land border ports in the state of Maine.

3. All land border ports in the states of Alaska and Minnesota.

Dated: April 6, 2007.

Deborah J. Spero,

Acting Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection.