CBP strikes Gold for cargo security policy

CBP strikes Gold for cargo security policy    Jonathan Gold, a top Washington insider on cargo security matters, plans to leave his position at the Retail Industry Leaders Association to join U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where he will help shape security policies related to imports and exports.
   Gold, vice president of global supply chain policy for the trade association, told friends and industry colleagues in an e-mail subsequently shared with Shippers’ NewsWire that he will be a cargo security policy analyst in the Office of Policy Planning, working under Acting Director Michael Mullen.
   He will start his new job on May 15, three days after he departs RILA.
   Gold has spent 10 years at RILA, the last five focused on supply chain security.
   His selection is part of a stepped up effort by CBP to hire people with industry expertise to help the agency craft supply chain security policies that fit normal business practices. Industry is likely to welcome the move as an indication that CBP is continuing to find the right balance for security measures that do not add excessive cost or burdens to international commerce.
   Gold has worked closely with CBP to provide industry input into policies such as the 24-rule, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, and contingency plans for restarting commerce in the event of a terrorist attack. RILA has strongly backed CBP efforts to globalize U.S. security standards through the World Customs Organization and create uniformity in customs clearance.
   He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations, or COAC, which serves as an industry sounding board for CBP on customs and security matters. The Department of Homeland Security will likely seek to appoint someone to fill the remaining year of Gold’s two-year term.
   RILA was formerly known as the International Mass Retail Association.