OTTAWA, Ont. — Don’t hold your breath waiting for full implementation of border security program.

US Customs and Border Protection announced a one month delay in implementation of so-called Phase 4 enforcement under the U.S. Trade Act. Enforcement was to have begun today.

The move stems from “unexpected programming difficulties that have not been resolved with the ACE e-truck manifest”, according to the agency, reports the Canadian Trucking Alliance.

In Phase Four, carriers who are not participating in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) will no longer be able to rely on a copy of a fax transmission to a customs broker to indicate an attempt to comply with the Trade Act’s advance cargo information rules if they arrive at the border and CBP has not received advance cargo information. If CBP has not received advance cargo information from the broker when the truck arrives, the truck will not be allowed to proceed.

This policy will apply at ACE-implemented ports, most notably Blaine, Pembina, and the Blue Water and Ambassador bridges, and surrounding, smaller ports. The deadline has been postponed temporarily until June 15, and will be implemented at other ports 30 days after the date ACE is deployed and operational.

“CTA has always acknowledged CBP’s obligation to enforce the Trade Act,” commented CTA CEO David Bradley. “All we asked is that the industry and the agency be ready, because the consequences the return of trucks to Canada for failure to comply are severe. While I believe CBP has done the right thing in this instance, these sorts of shifting deadlines are causing significant anxiety among carriers and making planning difficult.”