PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- CBP hopes to eventually create a top tier of "Trusted Traders" that will help participants deal with foreign governments as well as other U.S. agencies at the border, said CBP's Cheryl Bryce, acting director of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), who spoke during the Western Cargo Conference on Oct. 16. "I don't know how long this will take," but that "elite" group should see expedited trade with countries that are part of Mutual Recognition Arrangements with the U.S, she said. CBP is now testing a new "Trusted Trader" program that combines the C-TPAT supply chain security program with the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) import compliance program (see 14061320).
The Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) for CBP will next meet Oct. 29 in Washington, CBP said in a notice (here).
CBP will consider additional public comments submitted by Sept. 30 on information collections for applications to the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program and the new Trusted Trader program. CBP proposes (here) to revise the information collection to include requirements for the Trusted Trader program, it said. CBP said it added a notification letter and changed some of its estimates included in the previous request for comments (see 1503060017). A draft of the application is (here).
The Food and Drug Administration should allow for distinctions between major and minor mistakes within the filer/customs broker evaluation when considering Voluntary Qualified Importer Program eligibility, said the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. The FDA should also improve its data collection and create an agency rulings system before the VQIP is implemented, said the NCBFAA in comments to the agency on VQIP (here). Other commenters (here) included the American Association of Exporters and Importers (here), the Grocery Manufacturers Association (here) and the European Union (here).
Bradd Skinner will be the new assistant director-field operations for trade at CBP Laredo, said CBP in an Aug. 20 press release (here). Skinner replaces Nancy Becker, who retired from the position in January (see 1501050010). Skinner formerly led CBP’s Customs-Trade Against Partnership (C-TPAT) program for five years, among other roles at the agency.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 10-14 in case they were missed.
The plateaued participation in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program has prevented it from reaching its full potential, leading some to question the viability of this program if CBP doesn't resolve these issues, said industry executives involved in the program. While the obstacles to participation vary for each company, there are several universal disincentives for both smaller and larger companies, said several C-TPAT consultants. Still, some remain optimistic about the future of C-TPAT as CBP adds new features and foreign recognition increases.
Thirty-five House lawmakers are on board with a bill introduced recently that would force non-resident foreign manufacturers to register agents in the U.S. to cover import liability. Those lawmakers, which are mostly Democrats, now co-sponsor the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2015, HR-3304 (here). Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., introduced the legislation on July 29 (see 1507290049). The bill now sits with the House Commerce, Ways and Means and Agriculture committees for consideration.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 3-7 in case they were missed.
CBP posted some more documents from the July 29 Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations (COAC) meeting. Among the documents is the presentation from the event (here), which outlined all the COAC recommendations, including calls to delay some deadlines for use of the Automated Commercial Environment for cargo release and entry summary filing (see 1507290066).