For trade compliance professionals, information is valuable. Your company’s import and export trade data holds a treasure trove of useful information that can help you understand trade flows and identify and manage compliance risks. Every company engaged in international trade can access its trade data through the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal. Here is how you can harvest the treasure buried in your company’s trade data.
What is the ACE portal?
The ACE portal provides businesses access to the data submitted on import and export declarations filed under its Employer Identification Number (EIN). The portal contains standard reports which can be run for a specific time period, as well as the capability to create custom reports. Applying for an ACE account is a straightforward process using the application available on the CBP website.
Why is trade data so valuable?
Trade data can reveal extremely useful information. It provides an overall picture of a company’s international trade activity, such as the volume and value of imported and exported goods and the amount of duties paid. In addition, the data provides a look at the tariff classifications, countries of origin, and ECCNs reported for those goods, as well as the shippers, consignees, destinations, ports, and customs brokers involved in the transactions. When sliced and diced, this information enables trade compliance professionals to understand their company’s trade footprint, identify risks, manage resources, and thereby ensure compliance.
How can you analyze trade data?
As a starting point, use trade data from the most recent year. Run the standard ACE ES 003 Entry Summary Line Tariff Details report for imports and the AES 202 USPPI Transactions report for exports. Download the reports from the ACE portal into an Excel file for easier manipulation. Creating a few basic pivot tables will enable you to mine the gold that lies within your data.
- Number and value of declarations, and the duty paid, by month: Review how many import or export declarations the company filed each month during the previous year and the yearly total. What months were the busiest, the slowest? What months had the highest values and the most duty paid? Do the numbers correspond with business trends? Does trade compliance have the resources to manage the volumes?
- Number and value of declarations by supplier/country of origin: Look at which suppliers and countries represent the most shipments and the highest values. Are the numbers what you expected? If not, this may be an indication that suppliers are undervaluing goods, or the business is moving into new ventures of which trade compliance is unaware that may pose new risks.
- Number and value of declarations by tariff classification/ECCN: Examine which tariff classifications and ECCNs were most frequently used and account for the highest values. Do these tariff classifications reflect the types of goods the company usually trades? If not, this may indicate classification errors or new business projects in which trade compliance should be involved. Are the greatest values associated with dutiable tariff classifications? If so, that may point to opportunities to apply duty savings strategies. Are the most frequently reported ECCNs subject to license restrictions? If so, are the requirements being adequately examined and managed?
- Number of declarations filed by broker/port: Trade data can reveal whether unauthorized customs brokers have filed declarations on behalf of the company. This may be a sign that authority to issue a power of attorney to a new customs broker needs to be tightened, certain powers of attorney need to be revoked, or that trade compliance must better monitor who gives out the company’s EIN. In addition, these unfamiliar brokers are likely outside established recordkeeping processes meaning you may need to request copies of declaration documents from them in order maintain complete records.
Once you have identified outliers or data that appears anomalous, use the ACE reports to identify specific declarations to review to determine whether there were classification, value, origin or other errors. Then decide whether processes should be established or improved to mitigate mistakes in the future. Or perhaps there is a need for more training for functions involved in international trade.
There are multiple variations of pivot tables you can generate with your trade data depending on what you want to know. Experiment with creating your own tables to analyze the data in ways that are most useful and valuable for you.
