Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee

On November 21, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection published in the Federal Register (88 FR 81093) Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee.

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) will hold its quarterly meeting on Wednesday, December 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. The meeting will be open for the public to attend in person or via webinar.

The COAC will hear from the current subcommittees on the topics listed below:

1. The Intelligent Enforcement Subcommittee will provide updates on the work completed and topics discussed in its working groups as well as present proposed recommendations for COAC's consideration. The Antidumping/Countervailing Duty (AD/CVD) Working Group will provide updates regarding its work and discussions on importer compliance with AD/CVD requirements. The Bond Working Group will report on the ongoing discussions and status updates for eBond requirements and new guidance that CBP is developing for the trade community on setting bond amounts. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Process Modernization Working Group will report on the development of a portal on the CBP IPR web page and other enhancements in communications between CBP, rights holders, and the trade community regarding enforcement actions, and anticipates providing proposed recommendations for the committee's consideration regarding these matters. The Forced Labor Working Group (FLWG) will report on the progress of the implementation of prior recommendations made by COAC and anticipates providing new proposed recommendations for the committee's consideration.

2. The Next Generation Facilitation Subcommittee will provide updates on its working groups. The Passenger Air Operations (PAO) Working Group continues focusing its discussions on CBP security seal processing (E-seals and badges), elimination of outdated or obsolete forms, and global entry/trusted traveler programs and will provide an update on those discussions. The Customs Interagency Industry Working Group (CII) continues to work on identifying data redundancies to improve efficiencies for the government and the trade. Although the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) 2.0 Working Group has been on hiatus, they plan to meet during the quarter to have an internal review and will provide an update on ACE 2.0 and the remaining business case scenario status.

3. The Rapid Response Subcommittee will provide updates from the Broker Modernization Working Group and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Chapter 7 Working Group. The Broker Modernization Working Group meets regularly and continues to focus on Continuing Education for Licensed Customs Brokers and the Customs Broker Licensing Exams. The USMCA Working Group meets bi-weekly with the expectation that proposed recommendations will be developed and submitted for consideration at the COAC public meeting. The current focus of this working group is to review the Chapter 7 articles of the USMCA and identify gaps in implementation between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

4. The Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee will provide updates on its six active working groups: the Export Modernization Working Group, the In-Bond Working Group, the Trade Partnership and Engagement Working Group, the Pipeline Working Group, the Cross-Border Recognition Working Group, and the De Minimis Working Group. The Export Modernization Working Group has continued its work on the electronic export manifest pilot program and recently brought in colleagues from the Canadian Border Services Agency to discuss required data elements. The In-Bond Working Group has continued its focus on the implementation of prior recommendations made by COAC. The Trade Partnership and Engagement Working Group has begun its work on the elements of the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) security program. The Pipeline Working Group has been discussing the most appropriate ``next step'' commodities and potential users of Distributed Ledger Technology to engage once the pilot for tracking pipeline-borne goods deploys. The Cross-Border Recognition Working Group began to meet again to develop tasks specific to its statement of work. The De Minimis Working Group has continued its work on strengthening the supply chain and mitigating risks in the low-value package environment.