U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Office of Field Operations hosted today the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Symposium to familiarize the local trade community about the transition to a single window for import and export reporting.  Marcelino Borges, Director of Field Operations for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands addresses the audience of the Symposium Marcelino Borges, Director of Field Operations for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands addresses the audience of the Symposium The event featured a presentation by Stephen Hilsen, Director for the CBP Office of International Trade before an audience of customs brokers to ensure their understanding and preparation for the imminent transition to ACE as the primary system through which the trade community will report imports and exports and the government will determine admissibility, and the corresponding decommission of legacy systems by the end of 2016. “We want to stress with small and medium-sized filers in Puerto Rico that they understand the implications of the transition and that they prepare,” stated Director Hilsen. ACE will automate and enhance interaction between international trade partners, CBP, and Partner Government Agencies (PGA) during the cargo import and export process, significantly increasing efficiency and reducing costs compared to the manual, paper-based interactions in place to-date. Effective  February 28, 2016, filers will only be permitted to file in ACE and no longer permitted to file in the Automated Commercial System (ACS) all electronic entries and associated entry summaries. In addition, electronic data for the following agencies must be filed in ACE: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for Lacey Act transactions Through ACE as the Single Window, manual processes will be streamlined and automated, paper will be eliminated, and the international trade community will be able to more easily and efficiently comply with U.S. laws and regulations.