Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

"We want to do business the way business does business." -Commissioner Raymond Kelly

"The days when Customs and the trade might have seemed unlikely partners in such a vast and ambitious project are long gone," Kelly said. "Our ability to work together will have a profound bearing on America's commercial future."

Kelly told the audience of more than 500 trade community leaders that the $130 million recently appropriated by Congress for ACE development "represents a watershed for Custom's modernization drive," but is only a tenth of its projected cost. He said that appropriated funds must be maintained at required levels during the next 4-5 years to finish the project.

Kelly described the trade symposium as an "unprecedented event for Customs." The one-day event, moderated by Trade Ombudsman Joseph M. Rees, featured talks, panel discussions, exhibits, Web site demonstrations, and direct access to senior Customs managers.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

Enthusiastic speaker, John Durant, engages the crowd at Trade Symposium 2000.

S.W. "Woody" Hall, Jr., Assistant Commissioner, Office of Information and Technology, said that Customs expects to award the contract for the prime ACE contractor within five months after funding. Software development will begin about six months later, after the trade community has a chance to provide input through various forums.

Customs also made several other major announcements during the trade symposium:

• Deputy Commissioner Charles W. Winwood said that the Customs risk-management approach has identified more than 150 voluntary compliant companies as low-risk. He explained that these companies "will see immediate benefits in terms of fewer cargo exams, fewer requests for information, fewer reviews, and greater uniformity and consistency in facilitated processing at the ports."
• John Durant, Director, Commercial Rulings, announced that the latest revision of the Entry Revision Project (ERP), a proposal to modernize the import entry process, had been posted on the Customs Web site for industry comment. The full implementation of this account-based approach to import compliance will depend on the development of the ACE system.
• Durant also announced that Customs plans to seek significant legislative changes that will integrate Drawback into a modernized entry process. Drawback, initially authorized in 1789 to support American commerce and manufacturing, allows for lawfully collected duty or tax to be refunded because of a particular use made of the commodity.

The Trade Symposium agenda, along with transcriptions of prepared talks, presentation points, questions-and-answers, and selected photographs, are available on the Customs Web site at www.customs.gov.