The White House has issued its “National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security”1 which focuses on the global network of transportation, postal, and shipping pathways, assets, and infrastructures by which goods are moved from the point of manufacture until they reach an end consumer, as well as supporting communications infrastructure and systems. The two goals of the Strategy are to: (i) promote the efficient and secure movement of goods and (ii) foster a resilient supply chain.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recently revised information on its website to indicate that the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) for the pharmaceuticals and electronics industries have been renamed as the "Industry Integration Center for Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals CEE" and the "Information Technology and Consumer Electronics CEE" to show an upcoming expansion of their product scope. Sources add that the Pharmaceuticals CEE will be expanded to cover all chemicals and health equipment (e.g. wheelchairs). CBP also plans to create CEEs for an additional eight industries over the next three years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted a December 2011 update on its plans for land border cargo pre-inspection pilots in Mexico and Canada. According to its December 2011 update and CBP sources, the parameters of the Port Huron/Sarnia “Cargo Express” pilot are still under discussion, no decision has yet been made on the start date for the FOXCONN campus pilot in San Jeronimo, and Mexico has begun construction at the pre-inspection facility in Tijuana.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for December 27-30, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
At the December 7, 2011 COAC meeting, the COAC Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Rights and CBP provided an update on their activities. COAC made recommendations for facilitating legitimate trade, including a C-TPAT-like supply chain partnership program for IPR and a distribution chain management serialization concept for validating the authenticity of goods. CBP announced that it had submitted a legislative proposal to Congress on sharing unredacted samples.
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for December 19-23, 2011 in case they were missed last week.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued its Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2011, which provides detailed financial information relative to DHS' mission and stewardship of resources entrusted to the department. As part of the report, DHS outlines ways in which it has overcome specific challenges related to CBP's oversight of the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) and cargo security that were identified in a November 2011 report by the Office of Inspector General (OIG).
On December 16-17, 2011, the House and Senate agreed to the conference report on H.R. 2055, a bill to provide appropriations for most federal government agencies1 for the remainder of fiscal year 2012, including the DHS (which includes CBP, ICE, and TSA). Although H.R. 2055 contains $11.7 billion for CBP, an increase of $362 million over the FY 2011 level, FY 2012 funding would be reduced for automation modernization, international cargo screening, C-TPAT, etc. (Note that some press reports suggest that the President wants an agreement on the payroll tax cut before he will sign H.R. 2055 into law.)
The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General has issued a November 2011 report identifying the major management and other challenges the department faces. Among these include U.S. Customs and Border Protection's lack of oversight tools to ensure that participants in the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) program comply with federal requirements; and CBP's lack of controls over the Single Transaction Bonds process. Challenges also remain with agencies' examination of high-risk cargo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted an overview and a list of frequently asked questions and answers on its Industry Integration Centers, which were formerly referred to as Centers for Excellence and Expertise (CEE). Among other things, CBP provides information on who can participate in these Centers, how these Centers will affect the processing of shipments, and what benefits they provide.