MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 15-005 – March 17, 2015

West Coast Ports
Productivity continues to improve at all West
Coast ports with the exception of Oakland, where
some local issues continue to be periodically
disruptive to the operations. There are under 15
container ships currently anchored, which is
significantly less than a couple of weeks ago. We
hope to see that number much closer to zero by
our next newsletter.
ILWU Labor Contract Update
During the week of March 30th there will be a
meeting in San Francisco with ILWU delegates
representing all the locals. If the contract is
approved by these delegates it will go to the
general membership to be voted in during the
month of April. If it is not approved by the delates,
then the contract will have to go back to the PMA
for further negotiation. It is expected that the
delegates from Oakland will reject the contract as
they historically do. It is unknown how the Los
Angeles delegates will vote since some of their
demands did not make it into the final draft.
There are some interesting changes in many of the
work rules and arbitration in this version of the
contract, which is worth reading if one has the
time. These have been reported in the Journal of
Commerce and other trade publications in the
past day or two. We will try to include some of
these changes in our next newsletter.
The following articles were written by Daniel Meylor
Carmichael’s Progress in ACE
ACE is U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP)
new operation system for entry, manifest, and all
types of import data that will replace the current
ACS (Automated Commercial System) that has
been in place since the early 1980’s. CBP has been
developing ACE for over 20 years and has had
many hiccups, but in the last 2 years CBP has
made steady progress. They have announced a
close-off date for filing electronic entries in ACS;
starting November 2015 all entries will be required
to be filed in ACE.
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(. . . continuation)
Carmichael has been filing entry summaries in
ACE since mid-2014. We have had our offices
experimenting with ACE and learning the
electronic notices, messages, and replies specific
to ACE. We are now poised to make a major
push to move fully into the ACE environment.
We have asked our offices to start filing our
entries in ACE whenever possible.
As our numbers in ACE increase, we will soon
start testing with ACE Release which will have
special programs attached to it.
The electronic release will allow for electronic
corrections in entries. Currently corrections need
a Customs Officer’s manual update in ACS which
cause release delays, such as when filing for split
air shipments after a release is received.
CBP does not yet have ACE functionality for filing
Quota entries, warehouse entries, temporary
importation bond entries, FTZ weekly
withdrawals, and others. They are scheduled to
be ready by sometime in July this year.
Carmichael will be ready to take on these entries
as well as other government agencies’ data in the
entry process, as CBP finishes their programming.
The effect on our customers from ACE should be
very transparent. However there is a restriction
for some post entry corrections in ACE. Post
Entry Amendments (PEA’s) that are filed for
corrections to an entry prior to the liquidation of
that entry in the required written format will not
be accepted. The corrections must be filed as a
“Post Summary Correction” through the
Automated Broker Interface (ABI), the platform
for submitting entry data to CBP. Please contact
us if you file your own PEA’s so that we can work
together to handle your needs. Also Quarterly
PEA’s for corrections with under $20.00 in duty
differences filed for numerous entries will not be
accepted for ACE entries.
the ship’s manifest within 48 hours of arrival in
Los Angeles. Cargo has been placed on hold
while an ISF can be filed (or refiled to match a bill
of lading). After the ISF is matched to the bill of
lading on the manifest,
CBP has manually reviewed the targeting and
decide whether to look at the cargo or allow the
release.

(A) To be responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, or to have participated in, directly or indirectly, any of the following in or in relation to Venezuela:
(1) Actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions;
(2) Significant acts of violence or conduct that constitutes a serious abuse or violation of human rights, including against persons involved in antigovernment protests in Venezuela or since February 2014;
(3) Actions that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or peaceful assembly; or
(4) Public corruption by senior officials within the Government of Venezuela

CBP Will Exercise More Scrutiny on Protest Filings
Following a recent court decision, U.S. Customs and Broker Protection (CBP) says that it will be more firm going forward on what does or doesn’t constitute a valid protest. In the past, CBP has accepted letters as protests for review of liquidated entries. The courts have recently held that such a protest must meet regulatory and statutory requirements, including the Protestant’s information, liquidation dates, and should include specific statements to be considered a protest. In a recent decision an importer had been in communication with CBP on an issue and responded to an informal request for information made by a Customs Officer. The response included an affidavit asking CBP to waive all duties and interest. The importer later contacted the officer since he had never heard back. While the affidavit did identify the issue, it did not include the liquidation date and was therefore not identified as a protest. The importer then filed a formal protest, but was denied since it had already exceeded the 180 day liquidation time requirement
President Obama Issues Executive Order for Sanctions against Venezuelan Parties
President Obama addressed human rights issues in Venezuela by issuing an executive order that would sanction top Venezuelan military and police officials involved in repression of press freedom and the persecution of dissidents. The order includes a list of the first Venezuelan officials’ names and sets criteria for adding others. The criteria listed in the order for those to be sanctioned are:
(ii) Any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State: (A) To be responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, or to have participated in, directly or indirectly, any of the following in or in relation to Venezuela:
(1) Actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions;
(2) Significant acts of violence or conduct that constitutes a serious abuse or violation of human rights, including against persons involved in antigovernment protests in Venezuela or since February 2014;
(3) Actions that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or peaceful assembly; or
(4) Public corruption by senior officials within the Government of Venezuela