Keynote speaker CBP Commissioner W. Ralph Basham discussed the importance of striking the difficult balance between security and trade facilitation. On the eve of the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11, the Commissioner stressed the importance of vigilance – affirming that the partnership between CBP and the trade community is a vital component of keeping America safe. He thanked TSN members for their hard work and collaboration with CBP in the mission-critical development of ACE.

Lou Samenfink, executive director of the Cargo Systems Program Office, discussed the essential role ACE plays in balancing CBP’s dual missions to facilitate legitimate trade while protecting the nation’s borders. Samenfink recognized the need for CBP and the trade community to work together as a team, asking members for continued support not only to improve ACE but also to identify and prioritize ACE capabilities necessary to turn off the Automated Commercial System.

The TSN received briefings on the deployment status of Entry Summary, Accounts and Revenue: Initial Entry Summary Types and Electronic Manifest: Rail and Sea, as well as an update from the U.S. Coast Guard. Trade representatives from the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) briefed members on subjects discussed at the most recent COAC session.

Additionally, the U.S. International Trade Commission demonstrated a new, online Harmonized Tariff Schedule reference tool, which includes user-friendly features, such as complete legal text and notes, current U.S. tariff rates, interactive access and search capabilities and direct links to both classification rulings and footnotes. TSN members also attended break-out sessions by government agencies involved with ACE, including the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Food Safety and Inspection Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Established by CBP in 1994, the TSN provides a forum for discussion of CBP modernization with the trade community. With TSN support, ACE will bring a national, account-based approach to conducting business, further enhancing the ability of CBP, other government agencies and the trade community to share international trade information through a secure, "single window."