U.S. studies boost of AES use

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 29, 2000) — A report reviewing the feasibility of requiring all U.S. export declarations to be filed electronically through the Automated Export System is expected to be ready for review by Congress this week. The report was initiated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2000.

In related news, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Census Bureau wants to incorporate data elements on paper filings of shipper’s export declaration which are already reported through the AES. Census must review the SED format every three years. Some information, such as hazardous material data and vehicle identification numbers, is not collected on paper SEDs but is on AES. These additional items are conditional data elements & are neither reported for all transactions nor a burden to the trade, Census said.

The agency still collects about 450,000 paper SEDs a month. Census will take comments from the industry about its proposed SED changes through June 27. For more information, contact Mr. Jerome Greenwell at (301) 457-2238.