CBP to lead new import safety center

CBP to lead new import safety center    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has opened a targeting center devoted to ensuring the safety of imported products entering the United States.
   The Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC) for Import Safety, established on the recommendation of President Obama’s Food Safety Working Group, will operate under the direction of Customs and Border Protection.
   “This new targeting center will enhance the inspection of goods entering our country by centralizing and strengthening federal efforts to protect U.S. consumers,” said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, in a statement Tuesday.
   The Import Safety CTAC, located in Washington, is modeled on CBP's two national targeting centers for cargo and passenger security as well as dedicated targeting and analysis groups that focus on trade violations related to textiles, intellectual property rights, antidumping, agriculture and customs revenue protection. It will specifically target shipments of imported cargo, including food, for possible safety violations.

Napolitano

   'We wanted a center that was a little more integrated with other agency partners, but also gave an opportunity for the trade to interact and provide us better leads and better information' on potential import safety risks, said Daniel Baldwin, assistant commissioner for international trade, at a briefing with reporters during the agency's annual Trade Symposium in Washington. The better source data is expected to enhance CBP's automated targeting systems for flagging suspicious shipments.
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, will provide on-site expertise at the center. Co-locating agency inspection officers is designed to improve communication and information sharing, and reduce redundant inspection activities.

Baldwin

   About 30 analysts from various agencies will staff the new CTAC, which is expected to be fully operational by January, Baldwin said. A key distinction between the Import Safety Center and the National Targeting Center for cargo security is that the latter analyzes electronic shipping data and intelligence prior to arrival in the United States to stop a potential bomb in a box from reaching a U.S. port, while the former will conduct a lot of monitoring after goods arrive and the customs entry has been filed, he said.
   CBP will continue to rely on the data from the entry and more detailed entry summary filed by importers to verify the history of shipments.
   'I think the data that's commonly being missed is the kind of data that FSIS or FDA requires at time of entry. Sometimes we don't have that transparency,' Baldwin said. Other government agencies expect to benefit from increased access to CBP advance manifest data supplied by ocean carriers and NVOs.
   The U.S. government rushed to strengthen standards for ensuring the safety of imported products following the discovery two years ago of Chinese-made infant formula laced with the chemical melamine, tainted pet food, toothpaste, and seafood and lead paint in toys produced in China.
   In December 2008, CBP launched a two-year trial with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to expand the border agency's Importer Self-Assessment program to encourage companies to self-audit their product safety practices for imports. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act earlier this year called for CPSC and CBP to cooperate on developing targeting methods for import safety.
   “With so much food coming from abroad, we must do all we can to ensure that it conforms to the same safety standards as our own food safety systems,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, said. ' Eric Kulisch