CBP Officials Discuss Mutual Recognition of C-TPAT and Similar Programs at February 2008 COAC Meeting
During the February 13, 2008 meeting of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC)1, CBP officials discussed, among other things, the progress that has been made toward achieving mutual recognition between CBP's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and other countries' supply chain security programs.
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At the meeting, CBP officials emphasized that mutual recognition of supply chain security programs is still in its infancy and the goal is to build a unified network of programs so that CBP is able to identify the "trusted traders."
Status Report on Mutual Recognition for the U.S. and 11 Foreign Countries
CBP officials provided COAC with a report on the status of CBP's mutual recognition efforts with various countries, a summary of which is provided below:
| Status of mutual recognition progess (see below for details) |
| Stage 42 |
| Stage 3 expected to begin in summer 20083 |
| Stage 2 |
| Talking about Stage 24 |
| Stage 1 |
| Stages 1-2 (Various phases) |
| Stages 1-2 (Various phases) |
| preliminary talks |
| U.S. is entering into a capacity building agreement with this country |
| U.S. is entering into a capacity building agreement with this country |
| U.S. is entering into a capacity building agreement with this country |
CBP Uses Four-Stage Methodology for Progress in Mutual Recognition
According to CBP officials, CBP is using the following four-stage methodology to navigate the mutual recognition progress with various customs administrations:
Stage 1 - side-by-side comparison. At this first stage, CBP does a side-by-side comparison of the other country's supply chain security program with C-TPAT to determine the similarities and conflicts between the two programs.
Stage 2 - joint validations. At the second stage, CBP and the other country see how they each implement the validation process, etc.
Stage 3 - mutual recognition agreement. At the third stage, CBP and the other country sign a mutual recognition agreement of their respective supply chain security programs.
Stage 4 - technical implementation. At the fourth stage, CBP and the other country address issues about the type of information to be exchanged, the platform to be used, etc.
1Formerly known as the "Commercial Operations Advisory Committee."
2See ITT's Online Archives or 07/16/07 news, 07071605, for BP summary of the signing by the U.S. and New Zealand of a Mutual Recognition Arrangement.
3See ITT's Online Archives or 01/01/08 news, 08010130, for BP summary of CBP Commissioner Basham stating that CBP is actively engaged with Jordan and the EU in developing a mutual recognition regime.
4The EU implemented its own supply chain security program, the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program on January 1, 2008. (See ITT's Online Archives or 01/11/08 news, 08011115, for BP summary.)