CBP’s import scanning should provide more benefits for Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) participants and remain risk-based, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said Sept. 13. “C-TPAT does need some additional work,” he said during the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America Government Affairs Conference in Washington. “If you’re a C-TPAT member and you’re valued and you’ve reached those top tiers, we need to enhance the benefits very much there.” Kerlikowske indicated that a risk-based scanning approach would dovetail with providing greater trusted trader benefits, and that such a method would be more realistic and efficient than a congressional mandate requiring all incoming U.S. cargo to be scanned via X-ray, which can be extended every two years with lawmakers’ approval. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson last notified Congress of such an extension in May (see 1605310028).
Several trade groups offered support and small tweaks in comments on a proposed rulemaking from the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) meant to support the International Trade Data System (ITDS) (see 1606200029). Commenters on the proposed changes, which would revise electronic Certificates of Label Approval (COLA) filing and other regulations, didn't lodge any major concerns within the submissions (here). "With a few 'builds,' we believe that the components set forth in this proposal will streamline the import process and facilitate electronic filings," the Distilled Spirits Council (DSC) said in its comments (here).
CBP released the full texts of the 11 existing Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) signed by the U.S. and foreign customs administrators. The texts, which weren't previously made available by CBP, were provided to International Trade Today in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. "After consultation and evaluation of the documents, CBP FOIA has determined that they may be released to you in full, with no redactions," CBP's FOIA Division Branch Chief Patrick Howard said in a letter. "A copy of the MRAs will also be placed in our Reading Room for future public use." The U.S. currently has MRAs with New Zealand, Canada, Jordan, Japan, Korea, the EU, Taiwan, Israel, Mexico, Singapore and the Dominican Republic. The MRAs allow CBP to consider participation in other customs regimes' trusted trader programs as similar to participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program and vice versa.
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) for CBP will next meet July 27 in Boston, CBP said in a notice (here).
A wide range of trade associations called on the Obama administration to request a re-examination of the law that requires 100 percent scanning on U.S.-bound maritime cargo containers, in a June 20 letter (here) to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson. DHS recently notified Congress that it again needs a two-year delay in the deadline to implement the requirement (see 1605310028). The industry signatories, made up of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, the National Retail Federation, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and 67 other organizations, also expressed support for extending the implementation deadline.
Exactly what regulatory changes CBP will seek under the customs reauthorization law's forced labor provisions is still uncertain, Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner for trade, said in a June 17 interview. At a minimum, CBP must change its regulations to reflect an effective close to the “consumptive demand” loophole (see 1604220017), but whatever else could be in any altered regulation is still an open question, she said. CBP is looking at a policy that’s “a little more flexible and nimble and can be responsive to a changing global environment,” and is holding several outreach sessions with the trade and labor communities at large “about what they need and how regulations could be helpful in ensuring that, as a country,” importation of forced labor goods is stopped, she said. There's some concern within the industry over potential new regulations for products made by forced labor (see 1605170017).
There's already a "strong case" to quickly expand pre-inspection programs for goods entering the U.S. from Mexico based on the ongoing pilots, CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said while speaking June 15 at a Wilson Center event about the U.S.-Mexico border (here). Despite the promising early stages of the programs (see 1601130018), there are some political issues, particularly immigration and border security, that make more rapid expansion difficult, Kerlikowske said. "I think more can be accomplished as we look at these pilot programs," but "I would not expect significant changes" in the near future as evaluation continues, he said. "There's nothing that I would see in the future that would inhibit expansion and discussion around some of these."
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 31 - June 6 in case they were missed.
CBP officials are in the very early stages of considering potential benefits for Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program members related to withhold release orders on goods suspected of forced labor production, said Thomas Kendrik, chief, strategic enforcement branch, at CBP. One possible C-TPAT benefit could involve exporting goods that are stopped due to a WRO, he said. "We have discussed with our partners over there at C-TPAT that expedited export could be a benefit," he said. Kendrik and other officials spoke at the West Coast Trade Symposium on May 26 in Phoenix.
CANCUN, Mexico -- Despite the work it takes to get there, signed Mutual Recognition Arrangements really mark the beginning of the relationship between customs administrations, said Elizabeth Schmelzinger, Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program Director at CBP, while speaking at the World Customs Organization Authorized Economic Operator conference on May 13. An MRA "must be carried out with confidence and precision be each of the AEO program," she said. "Consistent self-evaluation and mutual evaluation to ensure that we are innovating and that we adhere to the tenets of the security programs of the mutual recognition that we have agreed to."