CUSTOMS PREPARES C-TPAT VALIDATIONS

CUSTOMS PREPARES C-TPAT VALIDATIONS    U.S. Customs will begin validating the security methodologies of shippers, carriers and intermediaries that are participating in the agency’s supply-chain security initiative.
   The agency announced the program, Customs — Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or C-TPAT, more than a year ago in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the on-going threat of future strikes through conveyances used to move international shipments.
   To participate in C-TPAT, companies complete a security questionnaire for Customs and agree to develop programs to enhance security throughout their supply chains. Customs agrees to provide C-TPAT participants with faster cargo clearances and fewer exams.
   To date, there are about 1,700 companies that have signed C-TPAT agreements with Customs, including about 1,100 importers, 470 intermediaries, and 130 carriers. The program includes 63 of the country’s top 100 importers by container volume, said Robert Perez, director of C-TPAT in Customs’ Office of Field Operations.
   To formalize the program, Customs will use validations to identify weaknesses and improvements in corporate supply chains. Customs has maintained that the validations are not “audits” and would be developed with help from the shipping industry.
   Customs will soon begin to validate the supply chain security of 15 C-TPAT participants.
   Perez told industry executive members of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the U.S. Customs Service (COAC) in Washington on Jan. 24 that agency personnel designated to conduct the validations had received supply chain management training from industry sources.
   He added that Customs will proceed with C-TPAT in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration with the shipping industry.
   Meanwhile, participation in the program continues to increase. Last week, Customs opened C-TPAT enrollment to domestic port authorities and marine terminal operators. “We starting to see an evolution in C-TPAT,” Perez said.