Any company that imports or exports products, food, or raw materials, will want to pay attention to an important change that could affect how they do business and put them at greater regulatory risk.
By the end of 2016, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will require that all cargo shipment details be reported through ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), a new customs processing system. This use of this system, aimed at automating and consolidating border processing, brings with a number of challenges for both importers and exporters. ACE will be available to nearly all federal agencies, many of which have previously only dealt with paper submissions received after a shipment’s arrival. With the new portal, regulators will be able to review electronic data in real-time, collecting and analyzing it in new and unprecedented ways. This could lead to a rise in enforcement actions in the international trade industry as government agencies hunt for everything from smuggling and money laundering to copyright infringement.
