Bersin: Customs reforms to include brokers

Bersin: Customs reforms to include brokers    Discussions are underway within U.S. Customs and Border Protection about how to simplify the entry process for foreign-made goods, expedite release for trusted shippers and possibly allow quarterly payments of duties and fees, Commissioner Alan Bersin said April 5.

Bersin

   Along with those major reforms, he said he wants to rewrite the section of the U.S. code that lays out the licensing requirements, duties and responsibilities of customs brokers, which have not been updated in more than 30 years.
   In a 70-minute address to the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America's annual conference in Phoenix, Bersin acknowledged customs brokers might have trepidation about changes in how they transact customs business on behalf of importers, but reassured them that improving the process for importers would also benefit brokers in the long term.
   Global trade has changed dramatically during the past two decades and broker rules need to keep up with the new business environment, he added.

Preview of CBP's reform initiative •   Reinventing border security •   'Looking at entire mission' •   Matter of trust •   Border Wares •   U.S. agencies team up on import safety •   CBP's MBA isn't a college degree

   CBP cannot improve the efficiency of cross-border processing 'without your alliance and your insight. I need you to tell us what are the three-dozen ridiculous rules that we insist on that need to be broken in order to move the commerce through the ports,' Bersin said.
   A possible new role for brokers, he said, might be the trusted agent who vouches for the security bona fides of smaller shippers who share an ocean container, but are frozen out of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism because they don't rent the entire box for a trip.
   C-TPAT is a voluntary program for importers and their suppliers that leads to fewer cargo inspections and other types of faster clearance.
   CBP has had preliminary discussions about moving to a quarterly payment process, another official explained. The system allows importers that use the Automated Commercial Environment to pay fees on a monthly basis rather than for each shipment on a daily basis. ' Eric Kulisch