CBP Posts Its C-TPAT "Year in Review" for 2007
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a press release providing a 2007 "year in review" for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program.
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(C-TPAT is a voluntary government-business initiative to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve overall international supply chain and U.S. border security. Through C-TPAT, CBP asks businesses to ensure the integrity of their security practices and communicate and verify the security guidelines of their business partners within the supply chain.
To date, CBP has issued minimum-security criteria for: importers, customs brokers, U.S. and foreign-based marine port authority and terminal operators, Mexican long haul highway carriers, air carriers, rail carriers, foreign manufacturers, U.S./Canada and U.S./Mexico highway carriers, and sea carriers.)
The following are highlights of C-TPAT accomplishments during calendar year 2007:
C-TPAT validated 3,011 supply chains, representing a 27% increase from 2006. Of the 3,011 validations conducted, 601, or 20%, were revalidations. CBP notes that 2007 was the first year that C-TPAT began re-verifying supply chains.
C-TPAT Tier III status was granted to 17 companies as a result of the validation process.
C-TPAT certified 2,601 new members in accordance with Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act requirements.
Supply chain security specialists visited manufacturing and logistics facilities in 79 countries, representing some of the most terrorist prone and high risk areas of the world.
C-TPAT made progress on additional SAFE Port Act mandates, including the development of a Third Party Validation pilot program.
C-TPAT suspended or removed 112 companies from the C-TPAT program for security breaches or failure to meet C-TPAT's minimum security criteria as revealed in the validation process. Of the 112 companies, 47 were either conditionally or fully reinstated in the C-TPAT program after they demonstrated to CBP's satisfaction that immediate and sustained corrective action had been taken.
C-TPAT signed a mutual recognition arrangement with New Zealand's Customs Service and established work plans with several other countries to achieve similar arrangements. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/16/07 news, 07071615, for BP summary of the arrangement, which states that the arrangement could lead to mutual recognition of each country's supply chain security program (e.g., C-TPAT).)
The University of Virginia conducted a survey on behalf of CBP to determine C-TPAT member's perceptions regarding the cost, benefits and motivations to join the program. (See ITT's Online Archives or 09/12/07 news, 07091210, for BP summary of the study.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 02/06/08 news, 08020650 2, for previous BP summary of the 2007 C-TPAT review.
See ITT's Online Archives 01/25/08 news, 08012515, for BP summary of CBP's fiscal year 2007 Performance and Accountability report, which contains C-TPAT statistics for FY 2007.
See ITT's Online Archives or 02/05/08 news, 08020515, for BP summary of the FY 2008 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act being signed into law, which includes information on C-TPAT funding, etc.)
CBP press release (dated 01/31/08) available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/01312008.xml