The US government has announced that the last primary deployment of core trade processing capabilities for its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system is to be rescheduled.

US Customs and Border Protection had previously been planning to introduce a new batch of key functions for ACE on July 8th, but has chosen to postpone the date to carry out further testing, with a new timetable yet to be confirmed.

This deployment is set to include capabilities to handle liquidations, reconciliation, drawback, duty deferral, collections and the Automated Surety Interface. The government has pledged to confirm a new date at least 30 days in advance of the actual deployment and mandatory transition, as soon as the revised schedule can be confirmed.

A statement from US Customs and Border Protection said: "We have been conducting ongoing, rigorous testing to ensure these capabilities will operate successfully. Our latest efforts have revealed areas specific to collections that are in need of further testing before these capabilities can be deployed."

ACE has been designed to serve as the primary system through which the international trade community reports US imports and exports for the government to determine admissibility. Implementation of this tool is intended to help streamline and automate manual processes, reduce dependence on paper documentation, and help the trade community to comply with US laws and regulations more easily and efficiently.

Using the system, traders can submit Importer Security Filing forms, import manifests, entry summaries, export commodity data and supporting documentation, which ACE is able to store and process, before sending responses back to users as required.

However, the full benefits of ACE will not be unlocked until US Customs and Border Protection is able to complete the final deployment of its core trade processing capabilities, which remains an ongoing process.