DC Velocity - December 2011

that industry, rather than having agents at every port of entry process them. (Revenue collection will continue to take place at the ports of entry.)

By consolidating industry knowledge and expertise, CBP said it hopes to ensure the uniform application of procedures and policies in economically important industries.

Currently, CBP runs two such centers: one in Long Beach, Calif., for the electronics and computer industry, and one in New York for pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. The agency plans to increase that number to nine.

The third initiative would expand customs brokers’ involvement in cargo security, including leveraging their relationships with customers to help small and mid-sized companies improve security and trade compliance. A working group comprising representatives of CBP and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) has been examining those proposals as well as such issues as regulations and penalties governing brokers, continuing education, and whether brokers could play a role in pre-certifying their customers for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism ( C-TPAT), which sets security standards for imports and verifies compliance with those standards.

At the same time, CBP is considering expanding its role to include verifying U.S. exporters’ security compliance, with any future program likely to be modeled after the C-TPAT program. “The idea is being noodled around now” at CBP’s headquarters in Washington, said Dan Baldwin, executive director for cargo and conveyance security in CBP’s Office of Field Operations, at the CONECT conference.

Large exporters have been asking for a program that would verify their compliance with foreign governments’ cargo security programs, some of which are based on C-TPAT, Baldwin said. CBP plans to sign an agreement with the European Union regarding coordination between C-TPAT and the EU’s Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) security program by the end of this year,

he said.

CBP already has some involve-
ment with export security, notably
on the U.S. borders with Mexico and
Canada. The agency could play a big-
ger role than it currently does in
enforcing limits on technology and
licensed goods, Baldwin said.