U.S. Commerce Secretary backs mandatory AES filing by 2005

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 14, 2000) — The U.S. Secretary of Commerce has endorsed a report which recommends that shippers and forwarders be required to file a Shippers Export Declaration using the government’s Automated Export System (AES) by 2005.

The report was mandated by a law passed in November1999 amid increasing concerns among U.S. lawmakers about lax U.S. export controls. AES provides an electronic way to file the Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) and ocean manifest information directly to U.S. Customs

The report calls for making AES filing of shipper export declarations mandatory in four stages: 1) mandatory AES filing for munitions and items on the Commerce Department’s list of export controls by October 2002; 2) mandatory AES filing for items that require an export license by October 2003; mandatory AES filing for all non-vessel-operating common carriers, forwarders, and other intermediaries that file paperwork for exporters by October 2004; and 4) mandatory AES filing for shippers would have to be on the system by October 2005.

Crowding the path to implementation is funding. The report estimates the cost at $4.7 million in the first year and $6.7 million in each of the next three years of the phase-in. U.S. However, Customs said it would need $19 million in each of the four years.