see also: in January 2007 News Releases:   Membership of Trade/Customs Advisory Committee Announced   CBP Border Patrol Launches Massive Search to Preserve Life   CBP Officers Make 22 Drug Busts at Calexico Ports During Busy Week   3,010 Pounds of Marijuana Seized at Nogales Port of Entry   CBP Border Patrol Makes a Record Drug Bust   CBP Officers Nab Mother/Daughter Cocaine Smugglers; Juveniles With Marijuana Loads Also Nabbed This Week ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers   ACE: Modernization Information Systems

contacts for this news release

Dearborn, Mich. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will hold the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Exchange III Conference on February 27–28 at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn in Dearborn, Michigan. ACE Exchange III is part of a series of educational forums CBP is holding to educate the trade community about ACE. Online registration is now open for this free event.

ACE is the CBP trade processing system being developed to enhance national security and facilitate legitimate trade. It provides CBP with the ability to collect electronic manifests for trucks. It also provides the trade community with additional capabilities to comply with the legal requirement for the advance electronic presentation of cargo information to CBP.

The conference will be divided into two separate sessions, one for importers and brokers, and the other for truck carriers. Attendees will be able to establish accounts during the conference, as well as, participate in one-on-one training on how to use the ACE Secure Data Portal.

E-manifests mandatory filing began on January 25 with the first group of land border ports in the states of Washington and Arizona, as well as, select ports in North Dakota. E-manifest filing will be required in the second group of land border ports of entry in the states of California, Texas and New Mexico on April 19.

Notices announcing mandatory e-manifest dates for each port will be published in the Federal Register at least 90 days in advance of implementation. The information will also be posted on the CBP Modernization Web site. ( ACE: Modernization Information Systems )

Carriers may file their own e-manifests or hire someone to file for them. Filers can transmit an e-manifest online using the ACE Secure Data Portal at no charge. An electronic data interchange or EDI, a common e-commerce tool, may also be used. Companies may opt to build their own EDI software for CBP certification, or purchase software from CBP-certified vendors. A list of CBP-certified EDI software and application service providers can be found on the CBP Modernization Web site.

Carriers, importers and brokers interested in using the ACE Secure Data Portal must establish an ACE account and have access to the Internet. For information on how to establish an ACE account, e-mail CBP at acenow@dhs.gov.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.