June 25, 2008

Beginning next month, U.S. exporters will be required to file export documents electronically through Customs' Automated Export System (AES).

Although the new rule becomes effective on July 2, exporters will be given 90 days to comply before enforcement begins.

According to the head of the Census Bureau’s foreign trade division, most exporters already file documents electronically, however the agency still receives an average of 24,000 paper SEDs (Shippers’ Export Declaration) each month, most of them from the southern border.

Under the new rules, exporters or their agents will be required to file electronic data in roughly the same time intervals as import cargo: 24 hours for ocean cargo, two hours in advance for rail and air, and one hour before trucks arrive at the border.