OMB finishes “10+2” review

OMB finishes “10+2” review

OMB finishes “10+2” review

The Office of Management and Budget has completed its review of Customs and Border Protection’s proposed “10+2” rule for importers to file additional data on their suppliers and customers for security purposes, according to federal Web site on regulatory affairs.
   The proposed rule would require 10 types of information from importers and two pieces of container status data from ocean carriers to help with intelligence-based analysis of inbound shipments for terrorist or criminal connections. CBP primarily relies on the cargo declaration from carriers to analyze risk and determine which containers to inspect and the agency says the new information will allow for more complete determinations.
   DHS officials have expressed optimism that the notice of proposed rulemaking will be published in the Federal Register by the end of the year and the completion of OMB’s work now makes that possible. The proposal will go through a 60-day comment period, after which CBP will publish a final rule and begin requiring importers and carriers to file the data through approved electronic means. Agency officials have said they will phase in enforcement over the course of 12 months to enable industry to comply with the requirements.
   According to OMB’s economic analysis, the rule will cost industry from $390 million to $630 million per year for security filing transaction costs or fees charged to importers by cargo agents, the potential for supply chain delays and the estimated costs to carriers for transmitting the additional data to CBP. Transit times may increase, particularly for consolidated shipments, it said.
   The agency added that the incremental cost per shipment compared to it’s median value is small, while acknowledging that it is hard to quantify how much terrorist risk reduction the rule will provide.
   An OMB summary of its analysis can be found at www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoViewRule?ruleID=281302. ' Eric Kulisch