Basham renews CBP commitment to trade partnership

Basham renews CBP commitment to trade partnership    In his first public speech as the new commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Ralph Basham pledged that he would maintain the agency’s policy of balancing border security and trade facilitation as well as continue partnering with the import-export industry to self-police corporate supply chains and make customs processes more efficient.
   Basham, who was sworn in last week after previously serving as director of the Secret Service, said Tuesday he would work hard to quickly learn about commercial trade issues regulated by the agency but already understood a critical part of his job is “ensure the uninterrupted flow of the legitimate trade and travel.
   “I fully support the concept of the twin goals of security and facilitation, and I believe we must, and can achieve both. I intend to continue to build on CBP’s strategy and expand our ability to provide rapid processing and entry for these legitimate shipments so we can focus our inspection resources on the potentially higher-risk cargo. I believe partnership with the trade community is the key element to achieving those twin goals.”
   Basham reassured an audience of 500 trade professionals at the American Association of Exporters and Importers conference in New York that his law enforcement background would help him balance the economic and national security and not lead to an automatic crackdown on international cargo shipments in effort to protect the nation.
   He said the Secret Service and CBP are similar because they both use a risk management approach to guide enforcement efforts that may not be needed in low-risk situations. CBP uses commercial shipping data and intelligence to analyze the risk of container shipments and target a select number for inspections.
   “The Secret Service has similar challenges protecting the president,” Basham said. “Both CBP and the Secret Service deal with the constant tension of maintaining a constant balance between security and facilitation. If the Secret Service has security become its one and only concern then the president and his staff would not be able to do their jobs.”
   Basham joked that if protection was his sole goal he would have buried President Bush in a lead box under the ground with an oxygen and food tube to keep him supplied.
   He praised his predecessor, Robert Bonner, as a “visionary leader” who “laid a solid foundation for CBP” and said he respected the Container Security Initiative, Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, the advance manifest rules and other programs he initiated.
   “At this point, I see no need for dramatic change,” Basham said.
   The commissioner said he wanted an open dialogue with the trade community and asked for its help and advice as he grows into the job.