WASHINGTON, (Feb. 3, 2005) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced the elimination of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) requirement to establish an account or participate in any Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) tests.

The move, effective immediately, is intended to increase the usage of ACE, the new commercial trade processing system being developed by CBP and currently being tested at the Surrey, B.C.-Blaine, Wash. border crossing.

“This in no way indicates that the support of CBP management for the C-TPAT program has diminished,” said Assistant CBP Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern, Office of Field Operations. “C-TPAT participants will continue to realize specific benefits such as reduced examinations. Removal of the C-TPAT requirement for participation in ACE is intended to increase the usage of ACE so as to further streamline the commercial importation process, which will benefit both the importing community and CBP.”

The streamlined release systems protocol, mandated by the Trade Act in 2002, involved pre-selected truck carriers to open Truck Carrier Accounts in order to transmit electronic manifest data and obtain release of their cargo, crew, conveyances, and equipment via the ACE Portal or electronic data interchange (EDI) messaging.

A customized web page provides a single on-line access point to CBP systems. Periodic payment and statement features were introduced in June 2004. In December 2004, the first land border port was transitioned to ACE in Blaine. Over the next year, CBP plans to deploy ACE to all land border ports-of-entry that process commercial traffic. Eventually, ACE will replace the current paper dependent and transaction oriented import.

CBP recently resumed pilot testing of the ACE system in Blaine after a temporary shutdown in early January. Reports at the time suggested the program was frozen because of several technical and software problems.

The agency is encouraging importers, brokers and carriers to apply for ACE accounts as soon as possible to ensure smooth operations when ACE participation is eventually made mandatory.