[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 196 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54438-54440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27096]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census
[Docket No. 980729251-8251-01]
RIN 0607-AA19

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service


Automated Export System (AES) Program Status

AGENCIES: Census, Commerce, and Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: General notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On June 19, 1995, the Department of the Treasury's Customs 
Service announced the implementation of the Automated Export System 
(AES), a reporting system jointly developed by the Bureau of the Census 
(Census Bureau) and the Customs Service (Customs) allowing for the 
electronic transmission of shipper's export information, in the Federal 
Register (60 FR 32040). This notice informs the public of the current 
status of the AES program and enhancements that will be made to the AES 
as a result of Interest Based Negotiations (IBN) between Customs, the 
Census Bureau, and representatives of the trade community to create a 
more viable export reporting program. This notice also informs the 
public that the present Automated Export Reporting Program (AERP), a 
Census Bureau program, will expire on December 31, 1999, and that the 
AES Post-Departure Authorized Special Status (AES-PASS) program, a 
feature of AES developed to address specific concerns of the trade 
community, will cease operation. This notice further announces that the 
Census Bureau and Customs are developing regulations to implement 
provisions and requirements for filing export information 
electronically using the AES.
    The continuing development of the AES functions is designed to 
facilitate trade by reducing the administrative costs for both industry 
and government in the reporting, collection, and processing of required 
export information, and providing the government with better law 
enforcement opportunities in the administration of export laws by 
allowing for the earlier collection and review of export information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: At Customs: John Dagostino, Office of 
Field Operations, Outbound Process, 7501 Boston Boulevard, Mail stop 
208/d-98, Springfield, VA 22153; by phone at (703) 921-7464. At Census: 
C. Harvey Monk, Jr., Chief, Foreign Trade Division, Bureau of the 
Census, Room 2104, Federal Building 3, Washington, DC 20223-6700; by 
phone at (301) 457-2255; by fax on (301) 457-2645; or by e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Export Filing Requirements

    Pursuant to Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.) 301, the 
Secretary of Commerce is required to collect information from all 
persons engaged in foreign commerce or trade; the Census Bureau has 
been delegated this responsibility by the Secretary of Commerce. The 
filing requirements applicable to vessel outward manifests are 
contained in Section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of the United States 
(46 U.S.C. App. 91). The regulations that implement the Census Bureau's 
procedures regarding the submission of Shipper's Export Declarations 
(SEDs) for commodity information are contained in the Foreign Trade 
Statistics Regulations, 15 CFR Part 30.
    The Census Bureau is responsible for collecting, compiling, and 
publishing export trade statistics. However, Customs physically 
collects the outward manifest and SED documents and forwards the SEDs 
to the Census Bureau for processing (see 13 U.S.C. 303). The 
regulations that provide for Customs procedures regarding the 
submission of outbound manifests are found in Parts 4 (for Sea 
Carriers) and 122 (for Air Carriers) of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 
Parts 4 and 122). Customs uses the information contained in outward 
manifests to enforce export laws and regulations administered by the 
Bureau of Export Administration, the Office of Defense Trade Controls, 
the Office of Foreign Asset Controls, the Drug Enforcement 
Administration, the Department of the Treasury, and other local and 
federal agencies.

Current Filing Procedures

    Current Census Bureau export filing requirements provide for the 
reporting of information by exporters using the paper SED (15 CFR 
30.3). Normally, the exporter is required to submit SED information 
prior to the exportation of the merchandise (15 CFR 30.12). Census 
Bureau Regulations (15 CFR 30.39(b)) also provide for the alternate 
reporting of certain export information electronically after departure 
through the AERP. The AERP allows certain participating exporters to 
report their export information electronically to the Census Bureau on 
a monthly basis, in a

[[Page 54439]]

single report. The AERP provides a convenience to exporters for Census 
Bureau statistical purposes, but is of limited value to Customs in its 
enforcement of export laws because there is no export information 
required to be filed prior to the export of the merchandise. For these 
and other reasons discussed below, the AERP will be terminated on 
December 31, 1999.
    Census Bureau Regulations (15 CFR 30.39) also allow for export 
reporting through the AES, a separate electronic filing system jointly 
developed with Customs. As originally designed, use of the AES required 
that all export information be submitted prior to departure and did not 
provide the same monthly reporting privileges to exporters as the AERP. 
In order to meet the needs of the trade community for a post-departure 
filing option, the AES-PASS program was developed. The AES-PASS program 
allowed qualified exporters to transmit pre-departure ``IOU'' 
information electronically to Customs, to be followed by post-departure 
submission of the remaining commodity information within a specified 
time period.

Development of the AES

    The purpose of the AES is to support the Customs outbound mission 
by providing a voluntary information gateway through which the trade 
community and Federal Government agencies can electronically exchange 
export data that will facilitate the collection and processing of 
export information and improve enforcement and compliance with U.S. 
export laws. The AES provides an alternative to filing the paper SED 
that is perceived as burdensome by the trade community, inefficient by 
the government for the collection of statistics, and of limited use in 
the enforcement of U.S. export laws. The AES is being designed to give 
the trade community the following benefits: (a) Fewer delays by Customs 
due to missing paper work; (b) fewer, but more efficient, inspections 
of export shipments; (c) more consistent application of export laws, 
and (d) reduced administrative costs due to automation. Further, AES 
enables government agencies with export responsibilities to collect 
statistics more efficiently, enforce their export requirements, and 
reduce their administrative costs.
    In July of 1995, AES was initiated (see Federal Register, June 19, 
1995 (60 FR 32040)) in the vessel ports of Baltimore, Norfolk, 
Charleston, Houston, and Los Angeles. By the end of 1996, AES was 
expanded to all Customs vessel ports of entry. The AES is continually 
being enhanced to ensure that the system is in conformance with 
standard industry practices concerning the collection of manifest 
information from sea carriers and commodity information from exporters. 
Future plans for the AES include the development of modules to accept: 
(1) Air and rail manifest information; (2) consolidated shipment 
information from exporter's agents; (3) manifest and shipment 
information from express carriers; and (4) drawback claims.
    While the AES has been continually enhanced since its 
implementation, the trade community has expressed concerns over the 
design of AES, specifically the requirement to transmit all commodity 
information prior to departure of the exporting carrier. As mentioned 
previously, the AES did not provide some of the privileges afforded by 
the Census Bureau's AERP. Although AES-PASS was developed by Customs in 
an attempt to provide some of these privileges to exporters, the trade 
community continued to express the opinion that neither AES nor AES-
PASS conformed to current business practices and that each program 
constituted a hindrance to the total voluntary acceptance of AES by the 
trade community.
    To ensure that the AES meets current business practices and 
voluntary acceptance by the trade community, Customs and the Census 
Bureau entered into IBN with representatives of the trade community to 
discuss further enhancements and to determine time frames for the 
submission of export information. The trade community was represented 
by the Customs Oversight Activities Committee and other members of the 
exporting community.
    As a result of the IBN, two significant improvements to the AES 
were agreed to:
    1. Creation of a filing option that requires no pre-departure 
information be filed by qualified participants (with the filing of full 
commodity information within ten (10) working days from the date of 
exportation).
    2. Creation of a two-stage filing option available to all filers 
that allows for transmissions where some basic export information is 
filed prior to departure with the remainder of the information filed 
within five (5) working days from the date of exportation.
    The four filing options, outlined in the agreement, for the 
submission of commodity information are:

Option 1--Paper SEDs and Pre-Departure Filing
    With Option 1, filers will continue the current procedure of filing 
paper SEDs with all pre-departure export information. This option will 
have no AES electronic component and maintains the present practice for 
filing export commodity information.
Option 2--AES Filing of All Pre-Departure Information
    With Option 2, all commodity information will be filed 
electronically prior to the departure of the carrier.
Option 3--AES Filing of Partial Pre-Departure Information
    With Option 3, filers will file fourteen (14) identified data 
elements of commodity information prior to exportation of the 
merchandise and transmit the remaining applicable data elements within 
five (5) working days of the date of exportation. This option will be 
available to all AES filers for those shipments that do not require 
full pre-departure information. However, this option will apply only to 
sea and air modes of transportation.
Option 4--AES Filing of Post-Departure Information:
    With Option 4, qualified exporters will be allowed to export 
approved commodities without filing any pre-departure information. 
However, complete commodity information must be filed within ten (10) 
working days from the date of exportation. Filers with Option 4 
privileges will be preapproved, having complied with a formal screening 
and review process through Customs, the Census Bureau, and other 
participating partnership agencies.

Expiration of AERP and AES-PASS

    In light of the foregoing, the following programs will be 
terminated as follows:
    1. AERP will expire December 31, 1999.
    2. AES-PASS will cease operation one year after the full 
implementation of Option 4.

Regulations

    The Census Bureau and Customs are developing regulations to 
implement provisions and requirements for filing export information 
electronically using the AES. These regulations will also include 
requirements for implementing the provisions of the IBN agreement.

    Dated: October 1, 1998.

    Concurred by:
Raymond W. Kelley,
Commissioner, U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

    Dated: October 2, 1998.


[[Page 54440]]


    Concurred by:
Bradford R. Huther,
Deputy Director, Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 98-27096 Filed 10-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-U