CBP Provides Update on C-TPAT Mutual Recognition with EU, Mexico
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued revised information regarding the mutual recognition1 of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program and foreign industry partner programs, to provide an update on CBP's pending mutual recognition arrangement (MRA) with the European Union, Mexico's pilot for a mutual recognition program, and CBP's MRA with the Korean Customs Service.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
(CBP updates information on the MRAs that it has signed to include its MRA with the Korean Customs Service's Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program (June 2010). Including the MRA with Korea, CBP has signed five MRAs with New Zealand (June 2007), Canada (June 2008), Jordan (June 2007), and Japan (June 2009). CBP is currently working on reaching an MRA between C-TPAT and Singapore's Secure Trade Partnership Plus Program and the EU's AEO Program.)
CBP Expects to Sign MRA with the EU in Late 2011, Implement in 2012
Over the last few months, the U.S. and the EU have made progress towards reaching mutual recognition. Joint validations have been conducted in both the EU and the U.S.; the actual text of the document to be signed has been cleared by each party’s legal sections; and meetings have already taken place to discuss and determine how and what type of data will be exchanged between the two parties in order to implement the arrangement. CBP expects to sign a MRA with the EU in late 2011 with implementation to follow in the first half of 2012.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/22/11 news, 11062208, for BP summary of an EU official discussing MR of AEO and C-TPAT and other customs-related issues.)
Mexico's Pilot for an MR Program to be Fully Operational in 2012
In May 2011 Mexico launched its own pilot for the program Mexican Customs called Alliance for Secure Commerce or Programa Alianza para un Comercio Seguro (PACS), with 12 manufacturing/exporting companies in the electric, electronics, aerospace, and automotive industries. Ten of those companies are C-TPAT certified/validated.
The pilot is expected to conclude at the end of 2011 and a fully operational program is likely to commence in early 2012 with all Mexican manufacturers/exporters being eligible to participate.
1The concept of mutual recognition (MR) is that C-TPAT and a foreign industry partnership program are compatible in both theory and practice so that one program may recognize the validation findings of the other program. The C-TPAT MR process involves the following four phases: (i) a side-by-side comparison of the program requirements; (ii) a pilot program of joint validation visits; (iii) the signing of an MRA; and (iv) the development of MR operational procedures.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 06/28/11 news, 10062815, for BP summary of the U.S. and Korea signing an MRA on C-TPAT and AEO.
See ITT's Online Archives or 04/19/11 news, 11041923, for BP summary of a Mexican Customs' official discussing Mexico's PACS program.
See ITT's Online Archives or 03/12/10 news, 10091210, for BP summary of CBP's last update on C-TPAT mutual recognition.)
CBP document providing information on C-TPAT mutual recognition is available here.
FAQs on C-TPAT mutual recognition are available here.