White House leads supply chain security review

White House leads supply chain security review    The White House is coordinating a government-wide assessment of global supply chain security that piggybacks on a similar review being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security.
   Stephen Heifetz, deputy assistant secretary for policy development at DHS, said Thursday the agency plans to complete its strategic plan for enhancing the security of international freight transportation, mandated by Congress in the 2006 SAFE Ports Act, sometime this summer.
   The White House decided to expand the scope of the review beyond DHS because there are many agencies that are involved in supply chain regulation and security, he said. The goal of the exercise is to determine what an efficient and secure supply chain looks like, and devise unified policies across agencies.
   Private sector input from subject matter experts, including members of the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, will be a critical part of the review, Heifetz said in Miami during a meeting of a federal advisory board that specializes in cross-border trade issues.
   The SAFE Port Act said the supply chain security plan should identify gaps in the roles and responsibilities of federal and state agencies, and private sector stakeholders in securely moving containerized freight and recommend regulatory, legislative and organizational changes to correct any problems. The study should also consider incentives to encourage additional voluntary industry measures to enhance supply chain security, develop ways to share intelligence and information with the private sector, consider the requirements of security requirements on small and medium-size businesses, and develop a system for quick resumption of trade following an incident.
   DHS was required to submit an initial plan to Congress 270 days after the law was enacted in the fall of 2006 and a final plan three years after the first report. ' Eric Kulisch