Protection in the Electronics Age

Where is my product? When will it arrive? What documents do I need to have for Customs? What’s an MID, an ELVIS, the AES, the e-manifest, ACE or ABI?

The MID is a Manufacturer’s Identification Code; the ELVIS is an Electronic Visa transmission for each shipment of products manufactured in China, shipped to the U.S. that falls within agreed-upon textile categories; AES is the online version of the Shippers’ Export Declaration; ACE is the Automated Commercial Environment commercial processing system; and ABI means Automated Broker Interface, an automated cargo release system.

So what do they have in common? Can information transmitted through or contained in them be used as evidence? Are they negatives or positives? Can they make an importer or exporter money?

Electronic Transmission

All of these examples reflect the unstoppable movement toward electronic communications and away from paper documentation. This is not new. The genesis for improving and modernizing global customs practices was the Revised Kyoto Convention of 1999. It specifically supported the concept of applying new technology to Customs practices.

The Revised Kyoto Convention of 1999 had the goals of simplifying Customs procedures with an emphasis on information technology and risk management involving automated systems to target and select high-risk shipments for inspection based on pre-arrival information. The essence of the Revised Kyoto Convention of 1999 can be summarized by five areas of focus: simplification of customs procedures; information technology; creation of automated targeting systems; maximum use of information technology; and the importance of e-commerce.

The “Kyoto Convention ICT Guidelines” (Information and Communication Technology) were published in 2004. The guidelines were specifically related to the use of information technology and the electronic transmission of customs-related data through and among government and non-government agencies.
One year later, the World Customs Organization, released its “Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade.” The standards required the electronic transmission of trade data and the use of Edifact and XML as EDI protocols.

The U.S. adopted the WCO standards in 2005, joining other customs administrations worldwide that are members of the WCO and that believe security begins at origin and ends at destination, managed with electronic documentation and communication.