Bersin is Seeking Benefit Ideas for a Revamped C-TPAT, Etc.
During the April 13-14, 2011 U.S. Customs and Border Protection annual Trade Symposium. CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin reiterated his goal to increase participation in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, and said that he would like to see the program grow from just over 10,000 to 40,000 participants within the next seven years1. He also stated that C-TPAT members needed to receive more benefits, and that DHS was examining the possibility of a single, department-wide trusted trade program for cargo.
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Program Needs to be “Taken to Next Level” by Adding Benefits
Bersin said that the C-TPAT program needs to be taken to the next level in order to get additional companies to voluntarily participate in the program. He noted that businesses make decisions based on costs and benefits, and many see the costs of C-TPAT as outweighing its benefits.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 09/24/10 news, 10092420, for BP summary of the 2010 C-TPAT cost/benefit survey, which found that only 42% of C-TPAT members reported that the benefits of participation in the program outweighed the costs.)
Bersin Wants Ideas on Potential C-TPAT Benefits
Bersin said that he is willing to provide additional benefits in order to raise the C-TPAT participation levels, and wants to hear ideas from the trade on the benefits that they want.
One attendee noted that something like fast tracking ruling requests for C-TPAT members would be a good benefit. Another CBP official wasn’t sure if the agency could do that, according to the current regulations. However, Bersin said that these were the types of ideas that he was seeking and planned on looking into the suggestion.
(Bersin noted that the best way for members of the trade to make suggestions to CBP, such as potential C-TPAT benefits, would be to contact the trade associations to which they belong. CBP has also previously said that members of the trade could submit ideas to help CBP improve, to the “trade only” email address traderelations@dhs.gov.)
Flow of Goods Should Speed Up for C-TPAT Members
Bersin also stated that the agency should work towards speeding up the flow of goods for C-TPAT members. He said this needs to not only be done at the pre-arrival/pre-release phase, but through to the end of the transaction.
DHS Looking at Single Trusted Partner Program for all of DHS
Bersin stated that Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has asked CBP, the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA), and other DHS components to look into developing a single DHS trusted partner program that would cover cargo. The Secretary also asked CBP to look into a single trusted traveler program.
CBP has already begun to address this request with regard to travelers within CBP and is moving to combine the three existing trusted traveler programs into one (currently there is the SENTRI program on the southern border, the NEXUS program on the northern border, and Global Entry at international airports).
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/30/10 news, 10123021, for BP summary of CBP expanding the Global Entry pilot to NEXUS and SENTRI members.)
1C-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 this initiative, 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 in exchange for certain benefits.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 04/01/11 news, 11033170, for BP summary of USCIB providing Bersin with a provisional list of 18 potential C-TPAT benefits, etc.)