What is ACE?

The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is the primary system through which the trade community reports imports and exports and the government determines admissibility. ACE is a web-based portal operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that consolidates border processing into a single, automated platform. Through ACE, importers, customs brokers, and carriers can file entry summaries, pay duties, track cargo, and pull historical reports like the ES-003 and ES-701. ACE replaced the legacy Automated Commercial System (ACS) as part of a multi-decade modernization effort. Nearly all formal entry filing in the United States now passes through ACE or its electronic interface, the Automated Broker Interface (ABI).

ACE is critical to the IEEPA and Section 301 tariff refund process. The ES-003 report — the primary data source for identifying refund-eligible entries — is exported directly from ACE. When Tariffi analyzes your import history, it starts with the ACE data your broker already has. The CAPE portal (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) also operates within the ACE ecosystem, and your licensed broker files refund declarations through ACE.