CUSTOMS TO SUSPEND OPERATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE PROTOTYPE

CUSTOMS TO SUSPEND OPERATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE PROTOTYPE    U.S. Customs will announce today that it will suspend operations and testing of automated prototype that allows the agency to share import and export data with U.K. Customs.
   The International Trade Prototype, which is part of Customs’ underfunded modernization effort, has been in development between the two countries since the mid-1990s.
   The goal of the system is to allow shippers to send out one set of shipment data to satisfy import and export requirements of both U.S. and U.K. Customs. A handful of shippers, such as Xerox, General Motors, Philips and Hewlett-Packard, have participated in the system.
   It’s uncertain if the International Trade Prototype will receive any emergency funding from Treasury or Congress.
   “It’s regretable that this has come about,” said Mike Coussins, project manager for the International Trade Prototype at U.K. Customs. “But we recognize the financial pressure that the U.S. Customs Service is under.”
   The International Trade Prototype has the attention of international trade and customs groups, such as the Group of Seven and the World Customs Organization, as a potential model for how other countries can exchange customs data in the future.