CBP and Others Speak on C-TPAT Tiers, Possibility of CBP WPM Penalties, Mandatory AES, Etc.
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) held its annual Government Affairs Conference on September 18-19, 2006 in Washington, D.C., during which officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as well as staff members from Congress, spoke. Highlights of their remarks include the following:
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C-TPAT - moving from Tier 1 to Tier 2. According to a Congressional staff member, a current issue with the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program is the difficulty that companies face in moving from Tier 1 to Tier 2 - due to the time it takes to obtain a validation by CBP. The staff member noted that the solution may be to have third parties (the private sector) conduct C-TPAT validations.
C-TPAT validations, etc. A CBP official stated that 125 CBP personnel are conducting C-TPAT validations, and to date, more than 3200 of the current 6000 C-TPAT members are validated. The official also noted that CBP will increase is validation efforts and also perform revalidations. In addition, to date, 175 C-TPAT members are suspended (and that 155 of this total are highway carriers).
C-TPAT security criteria for customs brokers. One CBP official stated that C-TPAT minimum security criteria for customs brokers will be developed in consultation with the NCBFAA. As it has been done for other sectors, the security criteria would be implemented immediately for new members, and phased-in for existing members.
Additional advanced entry data. A Congressional staff member states that Congress is interested in strengthening the Automated Targeting System (ATS) program, and that additional data is needed to do so. According to a CBP official, should CBP need additional advance entry data, Customs brokers could provide it.
CBP considers penalties for violations of WPM procedures. According to a CBP official, about 35 shipments a day are being refused due to issues regarding wood packaging material (WPM), with Turkey and Mexico the worst offenders. Other problems arise when the broker or importer are not timely in moving problem merchandise or following up with requirements or procedures. As a result, CBP is thinking of setting penalties to encourage better cooperation (currently USDA takes care of any problems and bill the company(s), but CBP isn't sure this working).
Final rule on Mandatory AES expected in January 2007. According to a CBP official, the Census Bureau's final rule on full mandatory filing of export information in the Automated Export System (AES) is expected to be available in January 2007.
CSI. A CBP official stated that there are currently 44 CSI (Container Security Initiative) ports to date, and the number may go to a total of 50 by the end of the year.