CBP bolsters ag enforcement, Basham says

CBP bolsters ag enforcement, Basham says U.S. Customs and Border Protection will form an advisory group to provide expertise on agricultural inspection issues, Commissioner Ralph Basham said Oct. 12 during the Western Cargo Conference in Denver.
   The committee would comprise representatives from industry, but spokeswoman Erlinda Byrd said no decision has been made about whether it would function in a similar role as the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, which provides advice on trade and security policy, or as a COAC subcommittee.
   Congress transferred agriculture inspection functions to Customs from the Department of Agriculture when it created the Department of Homeland Security in early 2003. CBP further consolidated through its 'One Face at the Border' strategy under which inspectors are cross-trained to perform inspections of cargo, agriculture and people rather than having separate staff for each function. A more senior cadre of dedicated agriculture specialists oversees enforcement and conducts more specialized analysis of suspect shipments. The transition has been made difficult at times by cultural and other differences between the agencies. Agriculture inspectors were not originally afforded the same career path within CBP as other inspectors, for example, leading to low morale and high turnover.
   There is a movement in some sectors of the agriculture industry to return the plant and animal inspectors back to USDA authority because of concern that CBP is focused more on its antiterrorist security mission and less on preventing threats from invasive species.
   Last year a provision in the Farm Bill that would have placed ag inspectors under the authority of the USDA was removed in final deliberations after the import-export industry alerted members that a fragmented inspection process hindered trade. Customs broker groups argue that agricultural inspections are more effective now because they are based on CBP automated targeting and risk analysis techniques.
   A bill (S. 887) by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is pending in the upper chamber that would similarly return the inspectors to the Agriculture Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which directs CBP on how to enforce the agriculture regulations.
   Basham said CBP is placing more emphasis on agriculture protection with the hiring of more inspectors and an increase in basic training on agriculture issues to 18 hours.
   'Consolidation was the right thing,' he stressed.
   A joint CBP and APHIS task force recommended last summer that the agencies improve ag enforcement through hiring more front-line and supervisory staff for agricultural missions, joint planning, improved information management systems and other measures.
   The Western Cargo Conference, or WESCCON, is the annual gathering of the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders.