The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee Export Modernization Working Group will work closely with CBP "in the development of regulatory change to mandate the use of electronic export manifest for all modes and review existing CBP export regulations," said Jim Swanson, director of CBP Cargo Security and Controls Division, in a government paper on the working group issue. CBP released the document ahead of the May 30 COAC meeting in Laredo, Texas. The group will also "review and assist in the development of the operational requirements for electronic export manifest and assist in the expansion of the current pilots to full operational status," Swanson said. Another goal is to help with implementing Post Departure filing enhancements. The work group will also "continue to review export materials that have been previously generated and formulate recommendations regarding their relevance and subsequent disposition in the context of a more modern supply chain," according to an executive summary from the Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee. "After engaging in full deliberation and discussion, the Work Group shall advise the COAC of any advice or recommendations."

CBP issued a CSMS message on the validation of Automated Export System filing response messages 007 (Header Filer ID Type Must Be E or D) and 227 (Forwarding Agent Party Missing) on May 23. The severity of both will change from "Informational" to "Fatal" in around 30 days.

The Census Bureau emailed some tips "on how to address the most frequent messages that were generated in [the Automated Export System] for this month." Response code 341, which is a warning that involves ultimate consignee information, occurs when "the Party Type is C for Ultimate Consignee and the ‘To Be Sold en Route’ indicator is reported as Yes," Census said. "Incomplete ultimate consignee information may be declared on an EEI when a ‘To Be Sold en Route’ declaration has been made," it said. "However, the actual ultimate consignee must be declared within 4 days of the Estimated Date of Export. Verify the ‘To Be Sold en Route’ indicator, correct the shipment and resubmit." Response code 505 is a fatal error that involves reporting values with non-numerics, Census said. "The Value of Goods must be declared on an EEI as numeric. Round to whole dollars, right justify and zero fill unused positions," the agency said. "Verify the Value of Goods, correct the shipment and resubmit."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service recently clarified procedures for exporters to obtain radiation letters, according to the North American Meat Institute. In communications with Meat Institute staff, FAS said requests for radiation letters should include the U.S. company name, address, phone number and point of contact name. “Requests also should stipulate the agricultural commodity being exported, the export destination and the number of radiation letters needed -- the limit is 50,” the trade group said. Exporters are required to submit requests on company letterhead to the FAS Processed Products and Technical Regulations division, which will then issue the radiation letters via UPS for agricultural food and feed products only, the North American Meat Institute said. Companies are required to send a UPS label along with their requests, it said.

CBP is planning to create a “best practices” guide for the auto export trade industry “about the documentation and submission of title validation under section 192,” according to a letter from CBP provided by the Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association. CBP is also planning to hold a question-and-answer session “to address any export concerns,” specifically relating to the “current Auto Export process” in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port, the letter said. The session is designed to help CBP gather a best-practices guide to “expedite trade while allowing CBP to focus on deterring the export of stolen” cars, according to the letter. The meeting is scheduled for May 21 in Long Beach, California.

The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet May 30 in Laredo, Texas, CBP said in a notice.

The Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to amend its U.S. Standards for Grades of Apples to remove smooth net-like russeting as a grade-determining factor in the U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy and U.S. No. 1 grades for Fuji apples, it said. The proposal also would remove obsolete references to the location where color standards may be examined and purchased, AMS said. The changes also would affect the grade requirements under the Export Apple Act.

Automated Export System Electronic Export Information filers should take steps to verify the correct port of export code, the Census Bureau said in a blog post. "First, verify the port of export code that you are reporting in the AES is valid for the mode of transportation of your shipment," the agency said. "Appendix D of the Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements (AESTIR) on the CBP’s website is an important resource, and it provides a full list of export port codes as well as valid modes of transportation for each port." It's also considered a "best practice to contact the carrier of your shipment and verify the port of export information." Fatal errors can be resolved by correcting and retransmitting the export filing, it said.

The Food Safety Inspection Service will soon begin collecting fees for export certificates it issues through the Public Health Information System Export Component, it said in a notice. Effective June 1, FSIS will collect a $4.01 application fee for applications submitted through the system. FSIS continues to incrementally add countries to the system, which allows exporters to electronically submit, track and manage their export applications, FSIS said. The initial deployment of the PHIS Export Component in June 2018 covered certificates for Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahamas, Bolivia, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cook Islands, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mozambique, San Marino, Tanzania, Uganda; additional countries added as of May 20 include Angola, Antarctica, Aruba, Bhutan, Botswana, Bouvett Island, Brunei Darussalam, Christmas Island, Comoros, Eritrea, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Islands, Greenland, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Isle of Man, Jersey, Lesotho, Liechtenstein and Vietnam.

The Automated Export System Trade Interface Requirements was updated to reflect the State Department's changes involving International Traffic in Arms Regulations for U.S. government transfers (see 1904180024), CBP said in a CSMS message.