U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced June 8
the final participating government agencies message set for the Automated
Commercial Environment, a harmonized set of information needed by federal
agencies to approve imports of cargo. Cindy Allen, executive director of the
ACE Business Office, said the PGA
message set “will expedite legitimate trade by providing a single window
through which the trade community can efficiently supply required data
electronically through the Automated Commercial Environment.”
According to an agency press release, CBP
anticipates completing the technology build that will enable the collection of
the PGA
message set in late 2011. Once incorporated into the ACE cargo release module,
the PGA
message set will extend the electronic record data set that is currently
provided to CBP to allow trade systems to submit PGA data
electronically to CBP along with current required information. CBP states that
additional work to reform policies, processes and regulatory changes is ongoing
to streamline data submission and allow for a paperless system when ACE cargo
release capabilities begin deploying in 2012.
