Effective October 15, 2008 CBP to Require Bolt Seals for All Containers in Transit to the U.S.
At an April 2, 2008 hearing of a House Subcommittee on Homeland Security1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern testified on cargo and border security issues, including Conveyance Security Devices (CSDs).
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Standard Bolt Seal for All Containers in Transit to U.S. Effective October 15, 2008
The CBP Deputy Commissioner's written statement said that:
"The 9/11 Act amended the SAFE Port Act by establishing that if an interim final rule [on container security] was not issued by the Secretary of DHS by April 1, 2008, all containers in transit to the U.S. would be required to be secured with a bolt seal by October 15, 2008.
DHS does not anticipate that an interim final rule will be issued by the April deadline. Therefore, effective 10/15/08, all containers will be required to be secured with the standard bolt seal."
(According to the Implementing Recommendations of 9/11 Act of 2007 (9/11 Act), the containers would be required to meet the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization Publicly Available Specification (ISO PAS) 17712 standard for sealing containers.)
CBP to Soon Begin Testing CSD Technology
The CBP Deputy Commissioner's written statement also said that:
"...following CBP's recent Request for Information on CSD technology, CBP will soon begin testing the CSD technology provided by the most qualified vendors who participated.
If this technology passes the laboratory testing phase, the devices will then be tested in real world operational environments. If ultimately proven mature and effective, CBP will determine potential high risk supply chain applications where the CSD would add security value. This measured approach will allow CBP to better understand the state of available technologies that have the potential to increase the security of containers as they transit the global supply chain."
(In December 2007, CBP issued an RFI, technical requirements, and other documents for CSDs. CBP's RFI closed on February 12, 2008. According to CBP, the goal of the RFI was to determine whether currently available CSD systems could meet CBP requirements.)
1This subcommittee is under the House Appropriations Committee.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 04/07/08, 04/08/08, and 04/10/08, 08040705, 08040805, and 08041005, for BP summaries on the Global Trade Exchange, 100% scanning (at foreign ports), and the deployment of radiation detectors aspects of the CBP Deputy Commissioner's statement.
See ITT's Online Archives or 02/29/08, 08022920, for BP summary of CBP officials discussing CSDs at the February 2008 COAC meeting.
See ITT's Online Archives 01/16/08 news, 08011610, for BP summary of CBP clarifying its RFI technical requirements for CSDs.)
CBP Deputy Commissioner's April 2, 2008 statement available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/congressional_test/border_secuirty_testify.xml.
BP Note
At the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America's Annual Conference, CBP Commissioner Basham stated that responses to the RFI on CSD technology were received from 10 companies.
(Basham's remarks from the NCBFAA Conference, given 04/09/08, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/commissioner/speeches_statements/ncbfaa.xml)