newsworthy
The U.S. government’s long-awaited International Trade
Data System (ITDS) was supposed to provide a huge boost
in productivity by allowing importers to electronically file
a single set of data and automatically share it with a host
of federal agencies. However, now that implementation is
finally under way, international traders are finding the system is actually introducing inefficiencies, and they fear the
situation could get worse.
ITDS, also known as the “Single Window” within U.S.
Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Automated
Commercial Environment (ACE) information system, is
designed to replace the patchwork of electronic and manual documents importers must submit to CBP and some
four-dozen other federal agencies that have some level of
oversight of U.S. imports. But revisions to software specs
by CBP and the initial group of other agencies—known as
participating government agencies, or PGAs—have made
it difficult for customs brokers and their software vendors
to meet the requirements, said Amy Magnus, director, customs affairs and compliance, for the customs broker A.N.
Deringer. Magnus spoke at the Coalition of New England
Companies for Trade’s (CONECT) 15th Annual Northeast
Cargo Symposium, held last month in Providence, R.I.
Each time there’s a change, Magnus said, vendors must
reprogram their software; then their broker customers must
shut down their systems, update them, and retrain staff. In
the old days, she said, there might be system upgrades “once
or twice a year, while this year, I can’t even count.”
To illustrate, Magnus showed a photo of a 12-inch stack
of printouts of Single Window-related software implemen-
tation guides. As of August, they totaled 1,481 pages, plus
six appendices totaling more than 400 pages. Thirteen gov-
ernment agencies issued multiple updates between January
and August, according to Magnus.
Adding to the complexity, Magnus said, is the sheer
volume of data contained in the transmissions. As more
electronic messages about import entries include data
from PGAs, she explained, the number of lines of information customs brokers are receiving in those messages has
skyrocketed. Furthermore, policy sometimes “seemed to
morph” after a programming change, she said.
For example, some importers participating in pilot programs have been surprised to find that while the type of
data they must submit for their imported products has
changed as expected, the number of products deemed subject to a PGA’s oversight has increased as well, she noted.
Fellow panelist Heidi Bray, U.S. and global customs compliance manager for Fiat and Chrysler Automobiles, concurred. Prior to ACE and the Single Window, she said, her
company was required to file just three data elements with
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for
certain imports. The required data elements have increased
so much, she said, that what was formerly a seven-line filing
is now more than 10 times as long, and it took her team six
months to figure out, program for, and be able to meet the
new reporting requirements.
A “daunting list” of PGAs have yet to implement the
Single Window, Magnus said, adding that customs brokers
and importers are worried about what will happen if future
implementations are anything like their experiences to
date.
—Toby Gooley
26 DC VELOCITY DECEMBER 2016 www.dcvelocity.com
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BOOR
PEJNOVIC
International traders fear “Single Window” will be a bottleneck
