CBP picks 4 for Broker Self-Assessment pilot

CBP picks 4 for Broker Self-Assessment pilot    U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday it has chosen four customs brokers to participate in a yearlong pilot test of CBP's Broker Self-Assessment program.
   The pilot, CBP said, will help the agency 'determine whether to formally implement the BSA program and what changes might be needed to ensure its effectiveness.'
   Twenty-six brokers applied to participate in the pilot program. BSA is based on the successful Importer Self-Assessment program in which CBP 'recruits trade compliant companies in order to reduce both CBP and company resources required during entry and post entry, and to build cooperative relationships that strengthen compliance with trade laws,' the agency said in an April 27 Federal Register notice about the BSA pilot.
   CBP announced the pilot program in mid-April, days after officials spoke at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America annual conference in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
   'Forty-five percent of all entries are one-time consignees,' Dan Baldwin, assistant commissioner of CBP's Office of Information Technology, told the conference. 'That's why I rely on the brokers to give good information. I think brokers are ready for self-assessment and we have a viable model with importer self-assessment.'
   At the time, Baldwin said CBP would look to bring in four brokers for the pilot — one large, one medium and two small — a number they have stuck to. The agency didn't release the names of the companies participating in the pilot.
   As part of the pilot, the participating brokers 'will update and improve internal controls, perform periodic testing of these internal controls, and disclose to CBP deficiencies discovered through the testing,' CBP said. 'The primary goal of the pilot is to ensure a high level of broker compliance with CBP laws and regulations.'