Bersin provides CBP trade performance metrics

Bersin provides CBP trade performance metrics    U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin has presented to the Senate Finance Committee a list of eight ways to measure how his agency is making progress on trade-related functions.
   Among the benchmarks is reducing the amount of paper-based documentation for import filings and penalties submitted by companies that are managed on an account basis or participate in voluntary compliance or security partnership programs.

Bersin

   Bersin was instructed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus during his May 13 confirmation hearing to supply a list of metrics for objectively assessing CBP's performance on trade facilitation and enforcement of trade laws. Baucus expressed skepticism that Bersin was sufficiently attuned to trade issues and could correct what he views as an overemphasis on security functions that have made it more difficult for U.S. companies to engage in cross-border trade.

Baucus

   'CBP aims for high scores on these metrics and for marked improvement where current performance is weak,' Bersin wrote in a letter dated June 1.
   The other metrics listed by Bersin are:
   ' The percentage of overall material compliance of all imports with trade laws based on reviews of customs entry summaries.
   ' The percentage of unsafe, illicit or otherwise non-compliant import cargo that poses a risk to public health, safety or U.S. economic security.
   ' The targeting rate — the rate of detection for imported cargo that is not compliant with U.S. law, including requirements to correctly pay applicable duties, taxes and fees on entries.
   ' Closing the revenue gap — the rate of material compliance of all importations with the requirement to correctly pay applicable duties, taxes and fees.
   ' Compliance rate for managed accounts — the rate of material compliance by importers designated as 'managed accounts' or 'trusted partners.'
   ' Speed at which compliant imports clear CBP from the time of lading through broker transmission of entry information through the CBP clearance process, with benchmarks varying by type of goods.
   ' Participation in partnership programs expressed as a percentage of all cargo by value that is imported by participants in all CBP partnership programs.
   The speed at which cargo is cleared is closely connected to security programs because inspections slow down the flow of cargo through a port. The U.S. trade community has clamored for more than six years for CBP to systematically measure the effectiveness of cargo security programs, while acknowledging that trying to quantify the effectiveness of security is a daunting task.
   Bersin's letter is posted on the Senate Finance Committee Web site and can be viewed here. ' Eric Kulisch