E manifest official

U.S. CBP issued this release today...

Beginning today, all truck carriers are required to electronically submit manifests detailing cargo and carrier information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection prior to arrival at any southern U.S. land border ports of entry. By allowing the truck carrier to begin import procedures in advance, drivers may shorten administrative time at the border, potentially leading to expedited border crossings for the approximately 21,000 trucks that cross the southern U.S. border each day.

Until now truck drivers have arrived at the border and presented CBP officers with a paper manifest that details information on the cargo being transported, the truck and trailer carrying the cargo and the driver. The manifest must then be processed by CBP while the driver waits. However, when a carrier files an electronic manifest, CBP officers can begin processing the truck before it arrives at the port.

Requiring manifest information to be submitted electronically greatly reduces the potential for errors and improves efficiency, resulting in faster border crossings for legitimate carriers. With e-manifests, time-consuming paper processes are eliminated, truckers spend less time waiting at the border, and goods make their way to market faster—all of which provide positive economic benefits for both the United States and Mexico.

The e-manifest capability is available at all ports featuring the Automated Commercial Environment, the commercial trade processing system being developed by CBP. Since January 2007 e-manifest filing rates at Arizona, California, Texas and New Mexico land border ports have grown steadily, from approximately 5,500 e-manifests filed in January to more than 32,000 in March.

This significant increase in the e-manifest participation rate by carriers on the southern border illustrates that they have been planning and preparing for the mandatory use of e-manifests. Now that the policy is in effect, CBP expects e-manifests to further facilitate and expedite the crossings of legitimate southern border carriers.

For more information on ACE, e-mail CBP.CSPO@dhs.gov or visit the CBP Web site at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/.

TK: Lee Frankel of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas says about 80% of volume in Nogales is going through the e-manifest system in this period of soft enforcement. He praised the CBP for being responsive to industry concerns and working with the trade on tweaks to software that might make it more efficient.

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