Dozens of industry organizations called on Congress to repeal a law that requires 100 percent scanning on U.S. bound maritime cargo containers in a June 2 letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson. While DHS aims to comply with the law, another two-year extension is necessary due to financial and practical constraints, Johnson told the House Judiciary Committee on May 29 (here). 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 the two-year extension to the implementation deadline.
CBP and the Food and Drug Administration will revive work within the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) through a new project aimed at improving data quality, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said during the May 22 COAC meeting. The group will aim to improve communication, so that "when restrictions are placed on certain commodities coming in that are impacted by FDA regulations, that we work and we look at how we can move more expeditiously," he said. Kerlikowske also said a Federal Register notice to initiate the Trusted Trader pilot program should come soon and is now on his desk for signature. The pilot would combine Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism with Importer Self-Assessment .
The removal of Egyptian President Mohamaed Morsi has contributed to the growing threat to the supply chain in the region, said CBP in an alert to Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members. The political instability in Egypt has "significantly increased the threat that terrorist groups will carry out an attack against critical supply chain elements in the country and its surrounding waterways, including the Suez Canal," said the C-TPAT alert. "In the nine months since President Morsi’s ouster, terrorist groups in Egypt have demonstrated a heightened intent to attack international supply chains in the country." An attack on a cargo ship transiting the Suez Canal would be a high-profile target for terrorists and has the "ability to disrupt the approximately eight percent of world trade that passes through the waterway each year." CBP advises C-TPAT members to reassess risk factors for shipments originating in Egypt or transiting through Egypt and minimize container drop times, among other things.
The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet May 22 at 1 p.m. in Miami, CBP said in a notice. Registration is available (here).
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related issues:
CBP applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark its Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) logo, the agency told industry members (here) and (here). Trademarking the logo will give additional protection from misuse of the logo, it said. "All licensing agreements will be issued free-of-charge," it said. The C-TPAT Partner Agreement will be updated with proper use clauses and C-TPAT members will need to agree to the clauses in order to renew their status, said CBP. "Until such time as a Partner’s next annual review, Partners are authorized to continue current uses of the trademark," the agency said. "Partners who are removed or withdrawn from the C-TPAT program must cease using the trademark." The trademark is only being licensed to C-TPAT members "at this time," it said. CBP's C-TPAT office, Office of Public Affairs and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the General Counsel collaborated on the application. CBP did not respond to a request for comment.
New International Organization for Standardization (ISO) specifications for security seals are set to go into effect May 15, CBP reminded Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members in a notice. ISO published the new standard, ISO 17712:2013, last year. C-TPAT criteria requires that "all seals must meet or exceed the current ISO 17712 standards for high security seals," though C-TPAT members "may continue to use the remaining ISO 17712:2010 high security seals they have in stock and then look to purchase ISO 17712:2013 high security seals in the future," the agency said. CBP also reminded C-TPAT participants to be careful when buying the seals and that they should get independent written certification from the supplier to make sure the seals meet the required standard.
NCBFAA Broker Known Importer Program Has Benefits, Also Liability for Customs Brokers, Say Panelists
LAS VEGAS -- The Broker-Known Importer Program will at least start as an industry initiative because of restrictive rules on how CBP can launch official pilot programs, said Alan Klestadt during a panel discussion April 9 at the annual conference of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). The association last year suggested that CBP adopt the program, which is meant to leverage some basic information brokers collect about their clients. The NCBFAA is coming up with the verification criteria and will open the program up to both association and non-association participants. In return, the NCBFAA is asking CBP to create an entry flag and incentivize importer participation. Klestadt says the NCBFAA wants CBP will conduct a survey 14 months into the program to see how it’s working. Eventually, the NCBFAA hopes CBP will formalize the program through regulations or a policy document.
CBP completed 346 total Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) validations, including 82 initial validations and 264 revalidations for 2014 as of April 1, it said in an update on program statistics. There have also been a total of 1,814 suspensions and 1,319 C-TPAT removals.
NEWPORT, R.I. -- A notice announcing the long-discussed "Trusted Trader" pilot is now facing additional legal reviews, which continue to delay a Federal Register notice that was expected to be out last month (see 14031203), said Elena Ryan, CBP director of Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) Transition Team, The pilot would combine Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) with Importer Self-Assessment (ISA). "We were hoping to have that out by now but we did need to go through some additional legal reviews," she said at a Coalition of New England Companies for Trade conference on April 1. "A lot of the things you have been hearing about now for a while are all still largely intact," including a multiphase approach, she said.