It’s in the import data

ItÆs in the import data       The Consumer Product Safety Commission lacks direct access to customs information that it could use to target unsafe imports, according to a congressional watchdog agency's report released in August.
      With the passage of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), Congress sought to update and strengthen the commission's authority over import product safety standards, recalls, reporting and administrative penalties. The legislation required the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the progress of the commission's implementation of CPSIA.
      The GAO found that the commission requires more access to Customs and Border Protection's import manifest records to identify potentially unsafe imports before they enter the commercial stream.
      The commission has traditionally relied on CBP to point up potentially harmful product imports. However CPSC is under increased pressure to prevent unsafe products from entering the United States. In 2007, the discovery of lead paint in a number of popular children's toys made in China thrust the commission into the public and congressional spotlight.
      'CPSC does not have access to key CBP import data it could use to target incoming shipments for inspection, and it has not updated its agreements with CBP to clarify each agency's roles and responsibilities,' the GAO said.
      'CPSC's activities at U.S. ports could be strengthened by better targeting incoming shipments for inspection and by improving CPSC's coordination with CBP,' the agency added. 'Otherwise, CPSC may not be able to carry out key inspection activities efficiently or to effectively leverage its enforcement priorities with CBP.'
      The GAO also said CPSC could learn from other federal agencies, such as the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration, and other overseas governments on how to improve its border surveillance and information sharing with other countries.
      Furthermore, the GAO said CPSC 'lacks a long-term plan with key goals' to prevent the entry of unsafe products. 'This may inhibit CPSC's ability to appropriately allocate any potential increases in agency resources or to address the safety of imported products through international means,' the agency said. ' Chris Gillis


BDP's selective acquisition
      The recent acquisition of British firm Rostrum Forwarding Ltd. by BDP International was not your typical takeover of a small regional player by a larger one.
      In fact, since BDP's founding in the 1960s by the late Richard J. Bolte Sr., the Philadelphia-based company has avoided a growth-by- acquisition model, which is quite prevalent among many mega-forwarding firms. Instead BDP has built its global presence by partnering with other firms that think, look and do business like itself.
      BDP has engaged periodically in strategic joint ventures in which the company has equity interests in selective markets. On some occasions, BDP has even gone on to buy the outstanding shares of the joint venture to take full ownership, such as the case of entities in Indonesia, Thailand, Germany and Italy.
      In general, BDP's global expansion has included multiple alliances with small and mid-sized logistics firms. 'Together, with our own extensive global coverage, we form a web of logistics services that spans the world to out-hustle our large competitors by delivering a more intimate brand of customer service,' said Arnie Bornstein, a company spokesman, in an interview.
      However, the U.K. forwarding market differs from others, he said. 'While BDP doesn't subscribe to the growth model of buying up other companies for the sake of seeing how many BDP logo signs we can hang outside offices around the globe, the breadth and importance of the U.K. market to our customers was a priority in our decision to establish an ownership presence there at this time.'
      'Beyond the competitive necessity of having a more substantive presence in the U.K., it further enhances our flexibility and service capacity for customers between the vital market and the world,' said John M. Bolte, BDP's chief operating officer, in a July 31 statement.
      'The Rostrum-BDP combination culminated nearly a year of research and due diligence, and it positions us to be more competitive for our customers as economies begin to recover,' Bornstein added.
      Rostrum's name will change to BDP International, but will continue to operate under Rostrum's Managing Director Bruce W. Pope. BDP did not disclose terms of the transaction. In addition to Rostrum's Dartford, Kent headquarters, the company has receiving depots in Birmingham, Bristol, Heathrow, Leeds, London and Manchester. BDP invested immediately to expand the operation's services by opening an office at the London-Heathrow Airport earlier in July.
      BDP said in the United Kingdom it will offer a range of transportation and logistics services, as well as value-added services such as insurance, packing, warehousing and distribution, and online shipment management and visibility tools. ' Chris Gillis


Nobody's business
      You wouldn't give your social security number to a complete stranger on the telephone or write it out on a survey. Then why would you want to use it on your commercial export documentation?
      The U.S. Census Bureau's Foreign Trade Division understands this and has issued an interim final rule to end the use of social security numbers as identification when registering and filing electronic export information in the Automated Export System, or AESDirect.
      The current regulations allow the authorized AES filer to either enter a social security number, employer identification number (EIN), or Dun and Bradstreet number (DUNS). Census said social security numbers are often used by individual filers, whereas businesses use either the EIN or DUNS. However, the EIN is available to both businesses and individuals, the agency said.
      Census said the rule is being implemented to ensure that the AES filer is protected in accordance with the 1974 Privacy Act. The problem with using a social security number as an AES filer identification is that the information could end up on commercial shipping documents, if an AES or AESDirect downtime citation is ever required.
      Under the interim rule, the AES filer, also called the 'U.S. principal party in interest,' must obtain an EIN through the Internal Revenue Service. Those filers who want to use a DUNS rather than the EIN must first obtain an EIN for identification purposes, the agency said.
      The interim rule, which was published in the Aug. 5 Federal Register, takes effect Sept. 4, but the agency will accept comments about the change through Oct. 5. Census plans to implement the provisions of the rule on Dec. 3. ' Chris Gillis