The ABCs of CBP’s Single Window Initiative

The initiative, officially known as the “International Trade Data System” (ITDS), which had been in the pipeline for more than two decades, is poised to streamline the border clearance process by providing a single venue through which all shipment data and documentation will be entered and managed.

The Single Window effectively replaces a multitentacled process marked by redundancy, inefficiency, and red tape; the process has been a significant and growing source of frustration for the trade community.

As the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency itself noted: “Fortyseven agencies are involved in the trade process and among these agencies, nearly 200 forms are required for imports and exports. The current processes are largely paper-based and require information to be keyed into multiple electronic systems. As a result, importers and exporters are often required to submit the same data to multiple agencies at multiple times.

While CBP has long recognized the need to revamp and modernize its capabilities, namely through an electronic filing platform called the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the issue came to head in 2014, when President Barack Obama put the issue firmly on CBP’s front burner through an executive order, directing the completion of an electronic Single Window by December 2016.

Going forward, the Single Window – which operates via the ACE platform – is the only platform through which cargo information can be submitted.

All other previously maintained databases and filing systems have either been deactivated or will be in the near future.