[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62583-62585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19644]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[Docket No. USCBP-2023-0021]


Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC)

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: Committee Management; Notice of Federal Advisory Committee 
Meeting.

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SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is revising the 
notice published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2023, which 
announced that the next meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations 
Advisory Committee (COAC) will be held on Wednesday, September 20, 
2023. This notice revises the August 30, 2023 notice to reflect the 
addition of a new working group to the Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee 
which will provide proposed recommendations for COAC's consideration at 
the September 20, 2023 COAC Public Meeting. As a result, CBP is 
republishing the August 30, 2023 notice, with amendments reflecting the 
addition of the De Minimis Working Group. The meeting will be open to 
the public via webinar only. There is no on-site, in-person option for 
the public to attend this quarterly meeting.

DATES: The COAC will meet on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, from 1 to 5 
p.m. EDT. Please note that the meeting may close early if the committee 
has completed its business. Comments must be submitted in writing no 
later than September 15, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be open to the public via webinar only. The 
webinar link and conference number will be posted by 5 p.m. EDT on 
September 19, 2023, at https://www.cbp.gov/trade/stakeholder-engagement/coac/coac-public-meetings. For information or to request 
special assistance for the meeting, contact Ms. Latoria Martin, Office 
of Trade Relations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at (202) 344-
1440 as soon as possible.
    Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Search for Docket Number USCBP-2023-0021. To submit a comment, click 
the ``Comment'' button located on the top left-hand side of the docket 
page.
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#93e7e1f2f7f6f6e5f6fde7e0d3f0f1e3bdf7fbe0bdf4fce5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e79395868382829182899394a7848597c9838f94c9808891">[email protected]</span></a>. Include Docket Number 
USCBP-2023-0021 in the subject line of the message.
    Comments must be submitted in writing no later than September 15, 
2023, and must be identified by Docket No. USCBP-2023-0021. All 
submissions received must also include the words ``Department of 
Homeland Security.'' All comments received will be posted without 
change to https://www.cbp.gov/trade/stakeholder-engagement/coac/coac-public-meetings and www.regulations.gov. Therefore, please refrain from 
including any personal information you do not wish to be posted. You 
may wish to view the Privacy and Security Notice, which is available 
via a link on www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Latoria Martin, Office of Trade 
Relations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW, Room 3.5A, Washington, DC 20229, (202) 344-1440; or Ms. Felicia M. 
Pullam, Designated Federal Officer, at (202) 344-1440 or via email at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c0b4b2a1a4a5a5b6a5aeb4b380a3a2b0eea4a8b3eea7afb6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="196d6b787d7c7c6f7c776d6a597a7b69377d716a377e766f">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 30, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) published a notice in the Federal Register (88 FR 
59933), announcing that the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory 
Committee (COAC) meeting will be held

[[Page 62584]]

on Wednesday, September 20, 2023. The August 30, 2023 notice complied 
with the 15-calendar-day requirement to provide the public with notice 
of the agenda and topics to be discussed. See section 102-3.150(a) of 
title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations (41 CFR 102-3.150(a)). This 
notice amends the agenda published in the August 30, 2023 notice, to 
note the addition of a new working group, the De Minimis Working Group, 
to the Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee. This notice is published less 
than 15 calendar days before COAC's public meeting. Pursuant to 41 CFR 
102-3.150(b), CBP believes that there are exceptional circumstances 
warranting less-than-15-days' notice. Due to the recent creation of the 
De Minimis Working Group it was not clear its work would be developed 
sufficiently to present it at the public meeting. However, CBP has been 
informed that the subcommittee will have additional proposed 
recommendations to offer to COAC at the public meeting based on the 
work from the new working group. Because CBP considers the working 
group's activity to be of significant interest to the public and the 
government, CBP does not want to delay COAC's ability to deliberate 
publicly upon the additional proposed recommendations.
    For ease of reference, CBP is republishing the entirety of the 
August 30, 2023 notice, with the changes described.
    Notice of this meeting is given under the authority of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act, Title 5 U.S.C. ch. 10. The Commercial Customs 
Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) provides advice to the Secretary 
of the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Department 
of the Treasury, and the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) on matters pertaining to the commercial operations of 
CBP and related functions within the Department of Homeland Security 
and the Department of the Treasury.
    The COAC is committed to ensuring that all participants have equal 
access regardless of disability status. If you require a reasonable 
accommodation due to a disability to fully participate, please contact 
Ms. Latoria Martin at (202) 344-1440 as soon as possible.
    Please feel free to share this information with other interested 
members of your organization or association.
    To facilitate public participation, we are inviting public comment 
on the issues the committee will consider prior to the formulation of 
recommendations as listed in the Agenda section below.
    There will be multiple public comment periods held during the 
meeting on September 20, 2023. Speakers are requested to limit their 
comments to two minutes or less to facilitate greater participation. 
Please note that the public comment period for speakers may end before 
the time indicated on the schedule that is posted on the CBP web page: 
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/stakeholder-engagement/coac.

Agenda

    The COAC will hear from the current subcommittees on the topics 
listed below:
    1. The Intelligent Enforcement Subcommittee will provide updates on 
the work completed and topics discussed in its working groups. The 
Antidumping/Countervailing Duty (AD/CVD) Working Group will provide 
updates regarding its work and discussions on importer compliance with 
AD/CVD requirements. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Process 
Modernization Working Group will report on and anticipates providing 
proposed recommendations for the committee's consideration relating to, 
the development of a portal on the CBP IPR web page and other 
enhancements in communications between CBP, rights holders, and the 
trade community regarding enforcement actions. The Bond Working Group 
will report on the ongoing discussions and status updates for eBond 
requirements. The Forced Labor Working Group (FLWG) has been working on 
the implementation of recommendations and updates, as well as revisions 
to its statement of work. The FLWG will also provide updates and 
anticipates making proposed recommendations for the committee's 
consideration at the September public meeting.
    2. The Next Generation Facilitation Subcommittee will provide 
updates on its working groups. There will be an update and proposed 
recommendations for the committee's consideration from the Automated 
Commercial Environment (ACE) 2.0 Working Group regarding progress on 
the ACE 2.0 initiative resulting from the working group's recent in-
person sessions held to review the CBP ACE 2.0 Concept of Operations 
processes. The Customs Interagency Industry Working Group (CII) 
(formerly the One U.S. Government Working Group) will provide an update 
on the work accomplished this quarter, which includes discussions with 
Partner Government Agencies and an update on ACE 2.0. The Passenger Air 
Operations (PAO) Working Group has been focusing its discussions on CBP 
security seal processing and access to international aircraft and 
passengers, landing rights, and elimination of outdated or obsolete 
forms, and will provide an update on those discussions.
    3. The Rapid Response Subcommittee will provide updates from the 
Broker Modernization Working Group and the United States-Mexico-Canada 
Agreement (USMCA) Chapter 7 Working Group. The Broker Modernization 
Working Group currently meets monthly and continues to focus on the 19 
CFR part 111 final rules relating to Modernization of the Customs 
Broker Regulations and Continuing Education for Licensed Customs 
Brokers, as well as Customs Broker Licensing Exams matters. The 
subcommittee anticipates the Broker Modernization Working Group will 
provide one proposed recommendation for the committee's consideration. 
The USMCA Chapter 7 Working Group meets bi-weekly with the expectation 
that proposed recommendations will be developed and submitted for 
consideration at an upcoming COAC public meeting. The current focus of 
this working group is to review the Chapter 7 articles of the USMCA and 
identify gaps in implementation between the United States, Mexico, and 
Canada.
    4. The Secure Trade Lanes Subcommittee will provide updates on its 
six active working groups: the Export Modernization Working Group, the 
In-Bond Working Group, the Trade Partnership and Engagement Working 
Group, the Pipeline Working Group, and the Cross-Border Recognition 
Working Group and the newly formed De Minimis Working Group. The Export 
Modernization Working Group has continued its work on the electronic 
export manifest pilot program. The In-Bond Working Group has continued 
its focus on the implementation of previously submitted 
recommendations. The Trade Partnership and Engagement Working Group has 
focused its work on implementing previous recommendations for Customs 
Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) Trade Compliance partners 
and is working to update its statement of work to include CTPAT 
security. The Pipeline Working Group will submit proposed 
recommendations for the committee's consideration that CBP develop a 
pilot to use Distributed Ledger Technology to enhance transparency in 
supply chains for pipeline-borne goods. The De Minimis Working Group 
held their first meeting on August 22 and the group will submit 
proposed recommendations for the committee's consideration. Emerging 
risks have necessitated changes to

[[Page 62585]]

operational priorities. Therefore, the De Minimis Working Group met on 
an aggressive schedule to develop proposed recommendations for the 
September 20, 2023, COAC meeting. Although the Cross-Border Recognition 
Working Group did not meet this quarter, it remains an active working 
group within the subcommittee and will resume meetings next quarter.
    Meeting materials will be available by September 11, 2023, at: 
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/stakeholder-engagement/coac/coac-public-meetings.

Felicia M. Pullam,
Executive Director, Office of Trade Relations.
[FR Doc. 2023-19644 Filed 9-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P


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