CBP plans to make recommendations for air cargo standards to the World Customs Organization for the Secure and Facilitate Global Trade (SAFE) framework by this fall, said CBP Deputy Commissioner Thomas Winkowski while speaking at the American Association of Exporters and Importers conference June 17. "We see the international harmonization of future air cargo security standards and guidelines as an absolute priority and its important in a global environment to ensure the security standards won't disrupt the flow of legitimate commerce," he said. The program is held in such high esteem, Japan has asked that the WCO hold back on establishing international air cargo standards until the Air Cargo Advance Screening Pilot (ACAS) pilot has finished, he said.
CBP plans to hold a webinar at 2 p.m. June 20 to update the trade on the benefits of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise and trade transformation, the agency said in a CSMS message. The webinar will feature Maria Luisa Boyce, senior advisor for private sector engagement from CBP’s Office of Trade Relations and Allen Gina, the assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of International Trade, it said. The webinar also will share information on key programs related to security and trade facilitation including the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), Customs—Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), and Importer Self-Assessment (ISA). Agency officials will also discuss the Base Metals Center of Excellence and Expertise and providing several key steps of the transition to the CEE.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s FY 2014 funding bill in the House includes recommendations to delay a mandatory country-of-origin labeling rule and create a trusted importer program, but does not include the USDA’s proposed food importer fee. The House Appropriations Committee marked up the bill June 13. Read the complete draft bill (here).
One percent, or around 104 members, of the 10,452 Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) members were pushed out of the program in 2012, the agency said in a document outlining the suspensions, removal, appeals and reinstatement process for the program. The agency also said 3 percent, or 313 members, were suspended in 2012. Those low suspension and removal numbers point to a successful working relationship for the program that includes "extensive outreach efforts" to help a member regain compliance before punitive action is taken, said CBP.
The U.S. should focus on eliminating tariffs, harmonizing trusted trader programs and making flexible rules of origin as negotiating objectives with Japan, industry groups told the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in comments posted on June 10. The comments, 89 in all, were submitted to help USTR craft negotiating objectives with Japan as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement negotiations (see 13050608).
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The decline in CBP's validations of companies applying for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program is due to a change in the revalidation time period, said a CBP spokeswoman. "The number of validations is slightly lower compared to 2012 as we have adjusted the revalidation time period from 3 years to 4 years," she said. A recently released CBP document on the C-TPAT program seemed to indicate a slowdown in validations this year (see 13060511).
CBP's validations of companies applying for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program appears to be declining year to year, according to a list of C-TPAT program achievements released by the agency. While there's still time for 2013 to catch up to past years in terms of the number of validations, if validations this year continue at the current pace, they will be about half of the total validations completed in 2012. Through June 3, CBP has validated a total of 616 C-TPAT applicants, which includes 172 initial validations and 444 revalidations, said CBP. Last year, there were a total of 2,376 validations, including 640 initial validations and 1,736 revalidations, the report said. CBP didn't comment.
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The Food and Drug Administration needs to do more to use the trusted trader model to manage food safety risks, said the American Association of Exporters and Importers. “Moving away from certifying individual transactions to certifying supply chains allows FDA and industry to focus supply chain security resources more effectively, thereby targeting high-risk operators and supply chains,” said AAEI in comments on FDA’s Jan. 16 preventative controls proposal (see 13010429). “Trusted traders are industry leaders in their respective trade as well as leaders in supply chain security and compliance,” AAEI said. “They represent low risk and should not be subjected to the same level or type of oversight as others not so designated.”