U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that the Customs Electronic Bulletin Board (CEBB) has been retired and all valid materials have been migrated to updated systems, including cbp.gov. CBP's notice notes certain new locations for various information, as the CEBB page itself will be retired on September 30, 2006. (CBP notice, undated, available at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/communications_to_trade/cebb_linklist.xml)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice announcing that the next meeting of the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection and Related Homeland Security Functions (COAC) will be held on August 3, 2006 in Washington, DC. (This committee was formerly known as the "Commercial Operations Advisory Committee.")
The 'security counsel' column of The Journal of Commerce questions whether the C-TPAT Mandatory Portal will leave the "partnership" behind and regress to a version of the "automate or perish" days of Commissioner William Von Raab. The column speculates that the days of a voluntary trade security program may be numbered given the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) critical reports on C-TPAT and the installation of an enforcement-grounded commissioner. (JoC, dated 07/10/06, www.joc.com )
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted to its Web site an updated set of question and answers regarding the implementation of its new, mandatory Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Internet Application and Communications Portal (referred to as the C-TPAT Security Link Portal).
In March 2006, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued its new Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) minimum security criteria for highway carriers. CBP had also issued an associated implementation plan, which included a three-phase implementation schedule for existing members.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has posted notice to its Web site that it will hold a meeting on June 29, 2006 in Laredo, Texas to propose and discuss expanding the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) Southern Border Highway Carrier segment to include the following sectors:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published its semi-annual regulatory agenda, which contains certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulatory rulemakings (rulemakings).
The Journal of Commerce reports that World Customs Organization Private Sector Consultative Group sources expect agreement to soon be reached on a definition of AEO, which means that the AEO document will likely be approved by the WCO when it meets in Brussels at the end of June 2006. According to the article, AEO requirements are similar to those of C-TPAT. (JoC, 06/19/06, www.joc.com )
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recently posted to its Web site its quarterly report on the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) entitled Report to Congress on the Automated Commercial Environment. This report covers the October 1, 2005 - December 31, 2005 period.
On June 6, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5441, the fiscal year (FY) 2007 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), etc. (See ITT's Online Archives or 06/09/06 news, 06060905, for BP summary.)