On Friday, January 14, 2005, at the 2004 CBP Trade Symposium, Rod MacDonald, Chief Information Officer (Acting), stated that an announcement should soon appear in the Federal Register notifying the trade community that C-TPAT participation will no longer be a prerequisite to participating in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). One of the programs of great interest to importers is the Periodic Monthly Statement prototype which allows importers to make monthly duty payments instead of paying duties on an entry by entry basis on the 10th day from entry release. CBP expects that this will allow more importers the opportunity to take advantage of the benefits the ACE has to offer.
Once the Federal Register notice has been published we will provide an update.