December 12, 2007
Truck e-Manifest Coming to Alaska Soon

The phased enforcement of truck e-Manifest at all land border ports in the state of Alaska will begin on February 11, 2008, per U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). According to a notice recently posted on CBP’s Web site, trucks entering the U.S. through land border ports of entry in the state of Alaska will be required to transmit advanced cargo information to CBP via the ACE Truck Manifest System on that date.

Enforcement of mandatory truck e-Manifest at the Alaska ports is expected to follow the same pattern of phased enforcement as previous groups of ports. CBP’s Notice contains detailed information on the various phases of enforcement, as well as information on which shipments are exempt. It can be accessed at the following URL:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/about/modernization/carrier_info/e-manifests_info/trade_act_enforce/emanifest_cluster7.xml.

Phased enforcement of truck e-Manifest in Alaska will be handled in the following phases:

• Phase 1, Informed Compliance, will begin on February 11, 2008. CBP will establish an informed compliance period that will last at least 60 days and may be extended. Drivers of conveyances that fail to meet the e-Manifest requirement will be given an informed compliance notice.


• Phase 2, Denial of Permit if No ACE e-Manifest Attempt, will begin no earlier than April 11, 2008. CBP will not allow into the U.S. any carrier required to submit an e-Manifest that arrives at the border without either submitting one or attempting to submit one. CBP Officers will be able to verify transmission attempts made by carriers, although they may accept an ACE e-Manifest cover sheet as initial proof of such an attempt.


• Phase 3, Denial of Permit if No ACE e-Manifest, will begin no earlier than May 11, 2008, and will continue as on-going Trade Act enforcement. CBP will deny a permit to proceed into the U.S. to any carrier required to submit an e-Manifest that arrives at a port requiring mandatory use of e-Manifest without first successfully transmitting an e-Manifest for that trip. Drivers who make an egregious violation, such as making no attempt to comply with any of the requirements, may incur a $5,000 fine for their first offense and a $10,000 fine for subsequent offences.


• CBP will announce additional phases for enforcement of other Trade Act elements once there is substantial compliance with the e-Manifest requirement.

When transmitting an e-Manifest, carriers are well-advised to enter the Broker Filer Number in the appropriate field of the e-Manifest. Doing so enables the customs broker to receive electronic information from the carrier on shipment control number (SCN), piece count and other data. The customs broker’s entry and the carrier's e-Manifest must be identical matches, and providing this information will assist in preventing delays, denial of entry or even penalties.

FedEx Trade Networks offers customers a wide variety of services to support the implementation of e-Manifest, including consulting and training, full service preparation, and an enhanced system that allows database set-up and use by the customer with transmission and filing via FedEx Trade Networks. More information on these services is available on the FedEx Trade Networks Web site at http://www.ftn.fedex.com.

For details on FedEx Trade Networks’ e-Manifest services, please contact Mike Niemic (mike_niemic@ftn.fedex.com; 810-966-3603) or Patricia DeFrain (patricia_defrain@ftn.fedex.com; 810-966-3607).

Previous FedEx Trade Networks bulletins regarding truck e-Manifest were posted on the following dates: in 2007: November 20, October 24, October 12, September 17, July 30 (two bulletins), June 12, May 15, April 26, March 20, March 2, and January 16; in 2006: October 30, August 10, and March 1; in 2005: October 18, February 2, and January 19.

CBP’s Federal Register announcement on this topic can be accessed at the following URL:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2007/pdf/E7-22133.pdf.

For more information, please contact your local FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage office. For a complete list of office locations go to http://www.ftn.fedex.com/locations/index.html.