C-TPAT Raises COAC issues

Validation, verification and benefits of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism are issues that Customs and Border Protection needs to clarify, members of the Departmental Advisory Committee for Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC) said (on May 5th, 2005).

Ed Moriarity, the deputy director of C-TPAT, said that Customs is in the process of increasing its staff of supply-chain specialists to 157 from its current level of 71, to help get all C-TPAT applicants verified. Out of 9,234 companies that have applied to join C-TPAT, only 564 have completed validations, meaning they can derive full benefits from the program.

Moriarity said that under the new C-TPAT criteria, Customs will be validating whether or not the importer has done its due diligence to verify security at foreign factories.

Moriarty said that foreign manufacturers that receive requests for the same security information from many different importers will have to answer them individually, since each C-PAT importer may have different security issues.

Customs will not consider using third parties to validate foreign locations, Moriarity said. Elaine Dezenski, the Department of Homeland Security official who oversees Customs and other front-line security agencies, said that the department would stay open-minded.

How will Customs define the "green lane," the highest benefit that importers can derive from C-TPAT?

Meeting all the C-TPAT criteria will mean that importers' cargo can go through U.S. ports without further security inspections. COAC members will begin to work with Customs to further clarify just what the term will mean. Curtis Spencer of IMS Worldwide said that it may be a "virtual green lane," rather than a physical process.

The following article is excerpted from the 5 May 2005 edition "The Journal of Commerce".

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Final C-TPAT Rules Out
By: R.G. Edmonson   The JOURNAL of COMMERCE ONLINE

WASHINGTON -- Importers that participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism have a new set of deadlines to upgrade their security to new voluntary guidelines.

Customs and Border Protection posted a final version of the long-awaited C-TPAT Importer Security Criteria on its web site. Customs officials in the past have said that the new criteria will further tighten supply-chain security.

Along with the criteria is a timetable for importer compliance. Importers will have until May 25 to "harden" their physical supply chains through new requirements for container security, premises security and access controls.

By July 25, importers will enhance internal supply-chain management practices, including personnel security, document processing, information technology security and training.

By Sept. 25, importers must have procedures in place for foreign business partners, including documentation that vendors are meeting the C-TPAT criteria.

Todd Owen, C-TPAT director, said that some 40 frequently asked questions will be posted on the Web site . The questions and answers are designed to provide more detail to help importers meet the new criteria. There are currently no published benefits for companies that meet the new standards.

Importers may find the new criteria online at: http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/ctpat/criteria_importers/

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C-TPAT No Longer Requirement of ACE

ACE provides companies streamlined communications between the trade and U.S. government agencies and enhances border security. With the C-TPAT requirement removed it is felt that more importers will be able to participate in the program.

This moves importers and brokers towards ACE, allowing for the transition from voluntary participation to mandatory requirement, as the old systems are phased out and ACE becomes mandatory.

C-TPAT is also designed to strengthen the supply chain and border security. U.S. and Canada Customs are asking businesses to ensure the integrity of their security practices and communicate their security guidelines to supply chain partners.

Participation in C-TPAT still provides clients with access to the Southbound FAST lane providing expedited Customs' clearances and improved security.

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BRASS - (Presented by a FAST Driver or face penalty)

Effective May 1, 2005 truckers clearing U.S. Customs with Border Release Advance Screening and Selectivity (BRASS) must utilize a valid FAST Driver Card for presentation with the BRASS Shipper Documentation when crossing the US/Canadian border or defer to PAPS.

BRASS, formerly known as "line release", can no longer be the system used by non-FAST drivers after May 1, 2005.

BRASS, is exempt from advance cargo reporting if carried by a FAST approved driver.

Drivers presenting a BRASS line release cannot use dedicated FAST lanes.

Unlike FAST, all parties in the truck do not have to be FAST approved, only the driver or the party that has completed the U.S. Inward Manifest are required to be FAST approved.

The carrier company carrying BRASS does not have to be FAST approved, only the driver.

U.S. Customs Border Protection has posted signs and have been giving drivers warnings.   Several notices have been issued. This really should come as no surprise to drivers who have been receiving notices.  This was delayed originally from Jan. 31, 2005.

After  May 1, a non-FAST driver presenting a BRASS release at U.S. CBP will face a $5,000 penalty.   After May 16th, the truck and freight will be returned to Canada. (as discussed in a meeting held in Detroit, April 21st, 2005).

A non-FAST driver will have to revert to PAPS and wait the one hour time frame (subject to advance cargo reporting) before arriving at the border crossing.  FAST approved shipments (Importer (C-TPAT approved), Carrier and Driver) are allowed a 30 minute report option, but if the driver is FAST should use the above BRASS line release.

Although Customs stated at a recent meeting that there has been a significant effort to reduce the backlog of applications, the steps in a driver becoming FAST still seem to be a slow process.   Drivers with letters of pending approval NEED TO VISIT ONE OF THE TEN ENROLLMENT CENTERS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!

For more information: info@customshelp.com

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Homeland Security Institute

Information Sharing Helps Maritime Security,
but Security Clearances Are Needed

The three interagency operational centers established to date allow greater information sharing because they operate 24 hours a day and receive real-time information from data sources such as radars and sensors, according to an April Government Accountability Office report. The Coast Guard is planning to develop its own sector command at up to 40 additional port locations to monitor information and support its operations. The major barrier to information sharing has been the lack of federal security clearances for nonfederal members of committees or centers. GAO recommends that the Coast Guard develop formal procedures to monitor the security clearance program and raise the awareness of nonfederal officials about the process of applying for a clearance.

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New Air Cargo Rules Proposed in U.S.
May 25, 2005  www.ctl.ca posted by Julia Kuzeljevich

WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. lawmakers have introduced two amendments to the 2006 Department of Homeland Security authorization bill.

The first would mandate the inspection of all cargo before it is shipped on passenger airplanes by 2008. Until that date, the second amendment would require airlines to notify passengers when unscreened cargo is being shipped in the cargo hold of a passenger plane, said a CNN report.

The report quoted Rep. Ed Markey, a co-author of the bipartisan legislation, saying that twenty-two percent of all the air cargo that is transported in the United States is loaded aboard passenger planes, without ever being physically screened.

The Transportation Security Administration instead relies now on what's called the "known shipper" database, a list of outfits approved by TSA to ship with little or no screening.

A TSA representative would not release to CNN information on what percentage of air cargo is screened, citing security reasons.

Lobbyists for the airline industry have argued that no matter how much Congress legislates, the technology still does not exist to take on the variety of items that are shipped.

The vice president of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, Paul Onorato, however offered a different assessment at a Washington press conference, stating that securing all cargo that is carried aboard commercial airlines is a very achievable goal.