The plateaued participation in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program has prevented it from reaching its full potential, leading some to question the viability of this program if CBP doesn't resolve these issues, said industry executives involved in the program. While the obstacles to participation vary for each company, there are several universal disincentives for both smaller and larger companies, said several C-TPAT consultants. Still, some remain optimistic about the future of C-TPAT as CBP adds new features and foreign recognition increases.
Thirty-five House lawmakers are on board with a bill introduced recently that would force non-resident foreign manufacturers to register agents in the U.S. to cover import liability. Those lawmakers, which are mostly Democrats, now co-sponsor the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2015, HR-3304 (here). Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., introduced the legislation on July 29 (see 1507290049). The bill now sits with the House Commerce, Ways and Means and Agriculture committees for consideration.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 3-7 in case they were missed.
CBP posted some more documents from the July 29 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting. Among the documents is the presentation from the event (here), which outlined all the COAC recommendations, including calls to delay some deadlines for use of the Automated Commercial Environment for cargo release and entry summary filing (see 1507290066).
CBP is seeking comments to some additional changes to the Importer ID Input Record (CBP Form 5106), the agency said in a notice (here). CBP previously asked for comment on major revisions to the form in October last year (see 14100815). Some of the planned changes were controversial among industry (see 1412090024 and 1412240014). The agency addressed some of those concerns in this request for comments. Comments are due Aug. 26.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP and Mexico's customs agency are making progress toward full recognition of the countries' respective trusted trader programs, said Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske during a speech at the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute on June 17 (here). Kerlikowske also discussed the Automated Commercial Environment's (ACE) impact on building a competitive U.S.-Mexico Border and ongoing work to harmonize data elements between the two countries. The recent election of Ana Hinojosa as the Director of Compliance of the World Customs Organization reflects the international respect for the U.S. plans for a "Single Window," said Kerlikowske (see 1506150018).
CBP is going through a "revolutionary series of changes, both culturally, organizationally and through our implementation of new technology that will fundamentally change in every way that we look at trade enforcement," said Michael Denning, an advisor on Cargo and Conveyance Security in the CBP Office of Field Operations. Some of the key areas for agency focus during this evolution include a drive toward consistency between the ports and the Centers of Excellence and Expertise, he said on May 27 while speaking at the West Coast Trade Symposium. Risk targeting has improved and the agency is now building on some of that through the expansion of Trusted Trader within the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, he said.
The second phase of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Portal 2.0 “is now live,” allowing exporter-only entities to apply for C-TPAT membership, said CBP in a CSMS message (here). “Companies that desire to initiate a brand new security model application to C-TPAT as an exporter” may now apply, it said. Importers who have already signed the Export Agreement have automatically had their C-TPAT security model expanded to include the exporter security criteria that now require responses, as well as other data fields unique to exporters that must be completed, said CBP. Importers that have not signed the Export Agreement will be able to expand their security model when CBP releases the next software update “in mid-June,” said the agency.
CBP plans to deploy the second phase of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) on May 30, the agency said (here). CBP delayed a roll out of several new features to C-TPAT, including the addition of exporters, earlier this month (see 1505190026).