ACE Operational at Southern Border

"From Brownsville, Texas, to Otay Mesa, California, ACE now stretches more than 1,900 miles along the U.S. Mexican border," said Cargo Systems Program Office Executive Director Louis Samenfink. "With the completion of installations on the southern border, ACE is in place to significantly enhance border security and expedite trade, especially as we transition to electronic manifests, a powerful, time saving tool for CBP and the trade community."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) completed installations of the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) in California and Arizona this week, including the ports at Otay Mesa, Calexico, Andrade, and Tecate in California, and San Luis, Arizona. ACE is the commercial trade processing system being developed by CBP to enhance border security and expedite legitimate trade. Eventually ACE will be the lead system at all ports when, in the coming years, capabilities are rolled out for air, rail, and sea cargo processing.

The electronic manifest (e-Manifest) capability is currently available at all ACE ports. Truck carriers are encouraged to establish ACE truck carrier accounts now to ensure efficient border operations when e-Manifests are eventually mandated at all land ports. More than 3,000 e-Manifests have been filed to date. The faster carriers adopt e-Manifests, the faster the border crossing process speeds up for everyone.

Time Saving System

Truck carriers can submit an e-Manifest through the web-based ACE Secure Data Portal or via CBP approved Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) procedures. There are more than 200 companies certified to submit e-Manifests through EDI, and numerous companies are using the portal for submission. The portal is essentially a computer screen similar to a Web site home page that connects CBP and the trade community by providing a single, integrated, on-line access point for communications and information. With a one-screen system, data can be stored and reused requiring less data entry time for truck carriers.

How does e-Manifest work?

When a truck approaches the primary booth, transponder technology similar to that of a toll-paying device may be used to signal the truck's arrival. The e-Manifest is automatically retrieved along with the matching pre-filed entries, in-bond requests, and other release declarations for the CBP officer to view and process. In addition, by establishing and using an ACE portal account, carriers can track the status of their trips and generate a wide variety of reports. This enables carriers to identify trends to plan future courses of action and achieve better results for their company. The time saving aspect also provides opportunities to increase profits. By allowing the truck carrier to begin import procedures early, drivers spend minimal time at the border itself, so delivery time is lessened, giving truckers more time to haul more shipments to earn more money.

With the completion of California, ACE has now been rolled out in every state on the southern border of the United States. Soon installations will begin in the northeast. There are currently 43 ACE ports in the states of Arizona, California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, and Washington. CBP is working diligently to finish deployment at all land-border ports.
CBP Completes ACE Installation in Texas and New Mexico