MANDATORY ELECTRONIC FILING FOR ALL SHIPMENTS
REQUIRING SED EFFECTIVE JULY 2, 2008

The U.S. Census Bureau has issued the final rule, which is requiring mandatory filing of export information through the Automated Export System (AES) or through the AESDirect for all shipments where a Shipper’s Export Declaration (SED) is required, effective July 2, 2008. There will be a 90-day implementation period, which ends September 30, 2008. After that, you must file your export information electronically through the AES or AESDirect. These new regulations, published in the Federal Register on June 2, 2008, have tougher penalty provisions that affect everyone in the export process. Penalties may be imposed per violation of the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) from $1,100 to $10,000 both civil and criminal. Anyone submitting paper SEDs after September 30, 2008, will be in violation and subject to penalties. For more information on this important rule, please visit: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/aes/mandatory/index.html

With an international network comprised of trade specialists and commercial officers in over 250 cities worldwide, the U.S. Commercial Service is in a unique position to serve the needs of U.S. exporters and help them succeed internationally.  We are a federal agency that is in place solely for the purpose of helping U.S. companies export!