CTPAT Director Issues Program Update
CBP expects to eventually restart in-person validations for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, Manuel Garza, CBP director of CTPAT in the Office of Field Operations, said. “Due to the worldwide pandemic conditions, it was necessary to defer all remaining 2020 on-site validations,” he said in a Nov. 6 message posted by CBP. “I wish to make it clear that CTPAT remains committed to on-site validation visits and it is the expectation that the program will resume normal operating procedures once conditions permit.” After a successful “CTPAT virtual validation test, the program intends to move forward in utilizing a virtual validation platform to be able to validate CTPAT partners,” he said.
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He also briefly mentioned that CTPAT is losing members, something he previously has discussed (see 2009100002). “The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed supply chains worldwide,” he said. “In turn, many partners have withdrawn or plan to withdraw from the program. I am certain that there will be changes to the way global supply chains operate in the future once we emerge from the aftershocks of the pandemic, so it is more important now than ever that we continue to communicate with the membership.”