Effective Jan. 25, truck carriers entering the United States through all ports of entry in the states of Washington and Arizona and through the ports of Pembina, Neche, Walhalla, Maida, Hannah, Sarles and Hansboro in North Dakota will be required to file electronic manifests through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

    ACE is the next generation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection technology designed to protect the United States from terrorism and to ensure the country’s economic vitality by expediting lawful trade.

    Eventually, all land border ports will be required to transmit advance electronic truck cargo information through ACE. Before requiring it at the ports not covered by this notice, CBP will provide 90 days notice through the Federal Register.

    The requirement to submit advance electronic cargo information is mandated by the Trade Act of 2002. To comply with this requirement, truck carriers have the following options to transmit e-manifests.

    •Self file through the Web-based ACE secure data portal or via a CBP approved electronic data interchange (EDI).

    •Use third parties, which usually require a fee.

    To begin filing e-manifests with CBP, carriers are encouraged to establish an ACE carrier account or obtain certification to file via EDI, or contact a customs broker, service provider, or other authorized filer to discuss how to submit e-manifests.

    The e-manifest capability is available at all ports where ACE is deployed.

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

Calexico improvements

    The port of Calexico is developing and implementing strategies to better facilitate entry of vehicular and pedestrian traffic into the U.S. while maintaining its current strong enforcement posture.

    CBP will proactively monitor and carefully deploy its available officers and supervisors at the downtown and east port facilities to ensure that all vehicular and pedestrian lanes are open during peak traffic hours every day, said Adele Fasano, CBP director of field operations in San Diego, Calif.

    Fasano said she has directed port management to reallocate staffing as needed between the two facilities to increase coverage of the traffic lanes.

    “Our goal is to maximize our processing capability within the confines of the existing port infrastructure during peak traffic periods. Fasano said.” The port will implement a variety of strategies to improve the traffic flow while fulfilling our important border security mandate.”

    For example, the downtown facility will increase by an hour the current SENTRI operation during busy weekday evening hours. Effective immediately, the port will staff the SENTRI lane from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. In addition the downtown facility will add a temporary fifth pedestrian lane in the coming weeks to expand its processing capacity during peak times for people crossing on foot.

    Because a small number of northbound traffic lanes in Mexico branch out into 10 vehicular lanes entering the downtown port of entry, traffic bottlenecks can occur during peak periods that can have a deleterious impact on traffic flow, Fasano said. During peak traffic periods, CBP will monitor the problem areas on the U.S. side of the border to efficiently direct traffic entering the port.

    CBP will develop staffing strategies to open the east port facility earlier during the agriculture season when the pedestrian lines increase due to Mexican farm laborers entering the U.S. The east facility currently opens at 6 a.m. but will be open earlier depending on need and staffing availability, Fasano said. Port management will work closely with Mexican authorities to better synchronize the closing of the Calexico East gates at 10 p.m. to ensure minimum disruption to travelers still waiting to enter the United States.

    Fasano said a significant threat of smuggling activity continues at ports of entry in the Imperial Valley. The threat, coupled with the elevated border security level, has had an impact on traffic wait times at border stations throughout the California/Mexico border due to the need for officers to exercise due diligence during their inspections of people, documents and vehicles.

    The amount of narcotics seized and the number of wanted criminals apprehended at ports of entry on the California/Mexico border burgeoned during fiscal year 2006.

    The amount of cocaine seized at the port of Calexico has increased 134 percent (3,162 pounds) at the downtown facility and 274 percent (1,100) pounds) at the East station through August 2006. The quantity of Methamphetamine seized grew by almost 20 percent (261 pounds) at the downtown port and 513 percent (232 pounds) at the east facility. The amount of marijuana seized also increased by 32 percent (37,304 pounds) and 542 (16,889 pounds) percent respectively at the two facilities.

    CBP officers at the two facilities apprehended 186 individuals with outstanding felony arrest warrants for various crimes such as murder, robbery, theft, child abuse, parole violation and narcotics charges.

Taiwan joins CSI

    CBP Commissioner Ralph Basham announced that CBP personnel will be stationed at the Port of Keelung to work with their Taiwan counterparts in targeting and prescreening cargo containers destined for the United States. The deployment is part of CBP’s Container Security Initiative.

    “This adds an important new layer to our defense,” said Basham. “It also represents a step forward for trade facilitation. Our goal is to protect and promote the movement of trade.”

    CSI has deployed CBP officers to Europe, Asia, Africa, North, South and Central America, and the Middle East. Approximately 82 percent of all maritime cargo destined for the U.S. is screened at CSI ports. Unveiled in January 2002, CSI serves the interests of business and security. Under CSI, containers scheduled for importation into the United States that are deemed high-risk are inspected at CSI ports. By extending the borders, CSI thus secures shipping lanes and facilitates the movement of goods.

    CSI is a critical component of the government’s strategy to secure the Nation from the terrorist threat using maritime cargo containers. Twenty-eight customs administrations have committed to joining CSI and are at various stages of implementation.

    CSI initially deployed agency personnel to the top 20 largest volume ports that export to the U.S. The program will continue to expand to strategic locations globally that ship goods to the U.S. and that have appropriate infrastructure and technology to participate in the CSI. By the end of 2007, CBP officials hope to expand CSI to 58 ports. This expansion would mean that about 85 percent of imported goods would be covered by CSI.

    The World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union (EU), and the G8 support CSI expansion and have adopted resolutions implementing CSI security measures introduced at ports throughout the world.