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.
CBP posted its draft agenda and other documents for the upcoming Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) meeting on Feb. 20, which include the "foundational principles required to position the U.S. government to efficiently manage strategic cross border issues in a manner that reduces the cost of doing business" related to exports. Other documents include draft recommendations, and other documents on trade modernization, the global supply chain, trade enforcement and other topics. The draft agenda is (here). The principles for a "One U.S. Government at the Border Cooperation for Exports" is (here).
CBP's official notice beginning a pilot program that would test a combined Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Importer Self Assessment (ISA) was delayed in order to include information on participation by other government agencies, said CBP in a document released ahead of the Feb. 20 Advisory Committee on the Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC) meeting. CBP said in November it planned to officially request pilot participants for the program, known as "Trusted Trader," by the end of 2013 (see 13111920). Another COAC working group said it is working to develop recommendations for customs broker permitting updates by May.
CBP highlighted the information sharing efforts at the Port of Antwerp in Belgium as a cargo security best practice in a Feb. 12 Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) bulletin. "Businesses operating at the Port of Antwerp are now able to participate in a program that facilitates the exchange of information about cargo-related crime between companies and authorities," it said. "The system, known as the Neighborhood Information Network (BIN), allows companies to submit anonymous tips about suspicious activity in the port area, which police then disseminates to other companies participating in the program. Approximately 650 companies were asked to join the program and 451 are now participating in the project."
CBP is considering an update to its foreign-trade zone (FTZ) pilot program that would expand direct delivery to non-owner operators that are enrolled in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program, said Lydia Jackson, FTZ Program Manager at CBP. "We would like to leverage the C-TPAT program to allow for liberalizing direct delivery requirements," she said at the National Association of FTZs Regulatory and Legislative Seminar Feb. 11 in Washington. Long-planned changes to its in-bond regulations are expected to come soon, though the final rule is still being reviewed by the Treasury Department, said another CBP official.