CBP is expected to begin to test a program that would allow importers of branded merchandise to send information to the agency through the Document Image System (DIS), said Karen Kenney of Liberty International, who is current co-chair of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) Trade Enforcement and Revenue Collection Subcommittee. Kenney, who is also chairman of the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) discussed COAC's ongoing work during a CONECT conference in Newport, R.I. on April 1. While not definite, a Federal Notice for the pilot may be out in early summer, she said.
CBP officials are now targeting March for the beginning of its combined Trusted Trader Pilot, they said during a panel discussion at the CBP Trade Symposium on March 7. A Federal Register notice announcing the program was originally scheduled for September 2013, but was pushed back to the end of 2013 before again being postponed to allow for participation by the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (see 13052032, 13111920 and 14021819). The long-delayed voluntary program would combine the supply chain security elements of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) with Importer Self-Assessment (ISA) trade compliance requirements, and CBP has said it would allow for a single validation and management approach (see 12120321).
CBP will face a number of new logistical challenges as it works to transition three Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) to handle several entry processes for entire industries, said industry and agency officials that spoke at the 2014 Trade Symposium. The first three CEEs to make the shift -- those handling electronics, petroleum and pharmaceutical industries (see 14030613) -- will be tasked with processing the entries of tens of thousands of companies when they previously handled under a hundred, said CBP officials during a panel on the CEEs.
CBP completed 143 total Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) validations, including 41 initial validations and 102 revalidations for 2014 as of March 4, it said in an update on program statistics. There have also been a total of 1,793 suspensions and 1,306 C-TPAT removals.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested about $13.1 billion for CBP in the fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget, slightly up from $12.9 billion requested last year. The budget request includes a cut of $6 million in recurring funding related to the 2010 Import Safety Initiative, it said. "The reduction of this recurring funding would not allow CBP to hire an additional 52 personnel to support the 2010 Import Safety Mandate," said DHS. "The re-scoping of CBP’s Import Safety funding will reduce the support to the Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC). An offset to the Import Safety Initiative will prevent the hiring of the six primary series that support the CTAC: International Trade Specialists (analysts), CBPOs (perform exams at port level), Import Specialists (merchandise classification), Paralegals (process enforcement cases), and Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures Officers (process enforcement actions). CBP will absorb these cuts as part of ongoing Trade Transformation initiatives.
Importers and customs brokers should be aware of intrusive software increasingly used to attack and disrupt computer systems, CBP warned in a Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) alert. Those "responsible for the clearance of goods through CBP using importers’ information in the entry process, should also be aware of corporate information theft," the alert said. "Unsuspecting U.S. Customs Brokers may have their computer systems compromised with the introduction of malware."
A working group in the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) will shift its focus to other intellectual property rights protection methods, including through trusted trader benefits, after recommending on Feb. 20 that the agency put the Distribution Chain Management (DCM) initiative on hold. The IPR working group will subsequently put more focus on a new tack, looking toward use of the Document Image System (DIS), trusted trader benefits and collaboration with the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs), said Karen Kenney, chief operating officer-Liberty International.
A major hurdle CBP will face in implementing a Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) for exports will be convincing industry that the program adds value, said industry and government officials at the Feb. 20 meeting of the CBP Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations. The COAC Trusted Trader Subcommittee spent the past few months reaching out to exporters to find out how to make C-TPAT for exports work. The lesson was that securing the supply chain isn’t enough; exporters will need to see tangible benefits before they sign on, they said.
Drug trafficking activity through countries that do not produce the drugs has increased in recent years, said CBP in a Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism alert. Pointing to the Port of Guayaquil, Ecuador, CBP has "noted an alarming uptick in the number and size of drug trafficking operations targeting legitimate cargo" at the port involving corrupt officials, it said. "The increase in drug trafficking activity at the Port of Guayaquil is part of a larger shift that has seen traffickers bypass the traditional drug-producing countries of Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru in favor of Chile, Ecuador, and Panama." The "non-drug-producing countries accounted for nearly 66 percent of seizures compared to 34 percent from the traditional cocaine producers," the agency said. "Smugglers may have started to favor these countries because they are less focused on fighting drug trafficking compared to countries such as Colombia, where trafficking is a primary focal point of government policy and enforcement efforts. "
The Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 20 formally announced the beginning of its Secure Supply Chain Pilot for expedited entry of drug products, listing 13 companies that it approved for participation. Under the program, which began earlier this month, drug importers that meet certain requirements receive expedited entry for up to 5 specific drug products per importer. The drugs must be imported from a manufacturer identified on the importer’s initial application to participate in the pilot, and must arrive through a designated port of entry, use the identified customs broker or entry filer, and must be intended for a designated ultimate consignee. The pilot is scheduled to run until February 2016.