Bureau Of The Census News

As we launch into 2014, the domestic waterfront continues to fire on all pistons; boatbuilding, charter rates, utilization of tonnage, and so much more. That kind of momentum, however, requires funding to sustain. For smaller operators in need of capital to grow and/or maintain their fleets, sourcing those funds can be tricky. Fortunately – and unlike the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration’s Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program of the last few years – the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture actually have the funding to make and guarantee loans for the U.S. commercial marine industry.

The Bureau of the Census issued a final rule that will require, as of August 18, 2003, all shipper's export declarations (SEDs) for items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) or the United States Munitions List (USML) to be filed electronically by means of the Automated Export System (AES). For those items regarding which the SED has been filed via AES, carriers are not required to attach a paper copy of the SED to the manifest filed with the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection upon departure. Rather, the manifest should include the transaction identification number or unique identifier to identify the electronic AES record. This number is to be obtained from the shipper. Source: HK Law