The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet July 27 in Boston, CBP said in a notice (here).
A wide range of trade associations called on the Obama administration to request a re-examination of the law that requires 100 percent scanning on U.S.-bound maritime cargo containers, in a June 20 letter (here) to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson. DHS recently notified Congress that it again needs a two-year delay in the deadline to implement the requirement (see 1605310028). The industry signatories, made up of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the National Retail Federation, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and 67 other organizations, also expressed support for extending the implementation deadline.
Exactly what regulatory changes CBP will seek under the customs reauthorization law's forced labor provisions is still uncertain, Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner for trade, said in a June 17 interview. At a minimum, CBP must change its regulations to reflect an effective close to the “consumptive demand” loophole (see 1604220017), but whatever else could be in any altered regulation is still an open question, she said. CBP is looking at a policy that’s “a little more flexible and nimble and can be responsive to a changing global environment,” and is holding several outreach sessions with the trade and labor communities at large “about what they need and how regulations could be helpful in ensuring that, as a country,” importation of forced labor goods is stopped, she said. There's some concern within the industry over potential new regulations for products made by forced labor (see 1605170017).
There's already a "strong case" to quickly expand pre-inspection programs for goods entering the U.S. from Mexico based on the ongoing pilots, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said while speaking June 15 at a Wilson Center event about the U.S.-Mexico border (here). Despite the promising early stages of the programs (see 1601130018), there are some political issues, particularly immigration and border security, that make more rapid expansion difficult, Kerlikowske said. "I think more can be accomplished as we look at these pilot programs," but "I would not expect significant changes" in the near future as evaluation continues, he said. "There's nothing that I would see in the future that would inhibit expansion and discussion around some of these."
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 31 - June 6 in case they were missed.
CBP officials are in the very early stages of considering potential benefits for Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program members related to withhold release orders on goods suspected of forced labor production, said Thomas Kendrik, chief, strategic enforcement branch, at CBP. One possible C-TPAT benefit could involve exporting goods that are stopped due to a WRO, he said. "We have discussed with our partners over there at C-TPAT that expedited export could be a benefit," he said. Kendrik and other officials spoke at the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 26 in Phoenix.
CANCUN, Mexico -- Despite the work it takes to get there, signed Mutual Recognition Arrangements really mark the beginning of the relationship between customs administrations, said Elizabeth Schmelzinger, Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program Director at CBP, while speaking at the World Customs Organization Authorized Economic Operator conference on May 13. An MRA "must be carried out with confidence and precision be each of the AEO program," she said. "Consistent self-evaluation and mutual evaluation to ensure that we are innovating and that we adhere to the tenets of the security programs of the mutual recognition that we have agreed to."
CANCUN, Mexico -- Companies will increasingly limit supply chain relationships to suppliers that participate in Authorized Economic Operator programs, said industry members at the World Customs Organization AEO conference on May 11. For example, James Lockett, vice president, Head of Trade Facilitation at Huawei Technologies, said he expects AEO status to someday be a prerequisite for all Huawei suppliers. While it's still too early on to make that requirement, it seems to be where the company is headed, he said. That trend is already evident within CBP's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, said Martin Rojas, senior advisor for the Americas, International Road Transport Union. While C-TPAT benefits for truckers are somewhat limited -- allowing for manifest submissions a half hour ahead of border crossing rather than an hour -- many truckers participate because the clients require it, he said.
CANCUN, Mexico -- New reporting requirements in the customs reauthorization law aren't expected to hamper efforts to align CBP's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program with Authorized Economic Operator programs, said Rich DiNucci, executive director, Cargo and Conveyance Security, at CBP. The law requires CBP to consult with the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees before beginning negotiations or entering Mutual Recognition Arrangements (see 1602170074). DiNucci discussed the issue on May 11 during the World Customs Organization's AEO Conference.
CBP is close to beginning the second phase of its trusted trader pilot program that aligns the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and Importer Self-Assessment programs, said Liz Schmelzinger, director of C-TPAT at CBP, during the April 27 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee meeting. The second phase involves the "attribution of the benefits" listed within the 2014 Federal Register notice that announced the pilot (see 14061320), she said. The agency will next consider the "effectiveness and the utility of those benefits" because some of those benefits may not be relevant any more, she said. Though initially drafted as a combination of C-TPAT and ISA, the agency has since tweaked the plans (see 1511040066).