U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Monday that it has extended the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) pilot program for an additional year.
It has also reopened the application period for new participants for 60 days.
ACAS is a voluntary pilot that enables participants to send and receive advance security filing data for airfreight through CBP’s Automated Targeting System.
A coalition of association representing airfreight forwarding companies jointly sent letters to CBP and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration in June, calling on the U.S. federal government to solicit input from small- and medium-sized forwarders before expanding ACAS. The associations included the U.S. Airforwarders Association, The International Air Cargo Association, and the Express Delivery and Logistics Association.
“CBP would like to extend the pilot further to enable CBP to continue to strengthen its capability to target high-risk cargo earlier in the supply chain and provide greater opportunity for additional members of the air cargo community to participate and prepare for possible proposed regulatory changes,” the CBP said in the Federal Register on Monday. “There are current participants that are in the process of testing and development that still need time to become fully operational participants and there continue to be members of the air cargo community who have informed CBP that they are interested in participating in the pilot.”
CBP first announced the expansion of the ACAS pilot, which would run for six months, in October 2012. Six months later, it extended the pilot period for another six months. CBP again extended the pilot program on Oct. 23, 2013, for an additional nine months.
CBP is now extending the ACAS pilot through July 26, 2015, and reopening the application period for new participants through Sept. 26.