CBP shoots for June publication of “10+2”

CBP shoots for June publication of “10+2”

CBP shoots for June publication of “10+2”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection hopes its notice of proposed rulemaking requiring importers and ocean carriers to submit a dozen pieces of advance shipment data will be published sometime in June, Deputy Commissioner Deborah Spero said Tuesday.
   CBP has been on a crash course since November to produce a regulation for advance data about the origin and destination of international cargo to improve the agency’s analytical capability and pre-screen suspicious shipments for security inspections overseas or upon arrival at a U.S. port.
   Under the nascent proposal, known as “10+2,” importers would be required to electronically transmit a security filing with supplier and consignee data to CBP 24 hours prior to vessel loading in a foreign port, in keeping with the current advance manifest timeframe for carriers. Vessel operators would subsequently provide two data elements related to handling of the containers.
   CBP has been trying for three years to identify commercial data elements and the best system for collecting data to improve its cargo targeting. But Congress in the SAFE Port Act mandated the agency to produce an advance trade data rule within a year. Most of the information sought by CBP relates to names and addresses of supply chain partners.
   Spero told the Department of Homeland Security’s Commercial Operations Advisory Committee that her fingers were crossed for a public release of the proposed rule June, but acknowledged that timeframe “may be optimistic.”
   The final draft of the rule, along with a cost-benefit analysis conducted with the help of economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is being routed to CBP leadership for final approval. It will soon be sent to DHS, and then on to the Office of Management and Budget for final clearance — and potential revision — before it is published in the Federal Register. Some industry representatives on COAC asked the government to allow a 90-day comment period, but a DHS official indicated 60 days was more likely.
   The “10+2” rule is expected to have a major impact on current international trade practices. Importers, or their agents, will have extra work trying to collect all the information and submit it in a timely fashion. Small and medium-sized businesses could have more difficulty because they often don’t have the same resources as larger companies to verify details about the original manufacturer or final receiver of the goods.
   “This is going to be a major change in software and physical processes. There could be big delays” for importers to get their security filing in order before their cargo can move, said Curtis Spencer, president of Houston-based trade advisory firm IMS Worldwide.
   The rule will be phased in over a 12-month period to help importers adjust to the new requirement before penalties and shipment denials go into full effect.
   Several companies are partnering with CBP by submitting early data to help test the interoperability of its systems, data formats and bandwidth capability to process the commercial feeds. CBP has received 150 submissions — either pushed or pulled — so far and is routing the data into its targeting system, said Richard DiNucci, CBP’s point man for the advance data effort.
   CBP is developing the advance trade data rule for ocean cargo, but will eventually develop similar requirements for other transport modes, DiNucci said last month at the agency’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism conference in New Orleans.
   He said that trade will become more efficient as CBP improves its targeting process because it will have to detain fewer containers for inspection about which it lacks sufficient knowledge. The economic impact analysis includes information for a half-dozen small and medium-sized enterprises to help assess how the rule could affect their business, DiNucci said at the time.
   Every bill of lading in a container will be subject to an advance data filing, he added.