CBP to soon issue C-TPAT criteria for carriers

CBP to soon issue C-TPAT criteria for carriers U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans this month to upgrade and expand two of its key programs for securing international shipments from being compromised by terrorists.
   The agency will release in July the first draft of tighter security criteria for air, rail and sea carriers who participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, said Michael Mullen, director of trade relations. In March, the border agency announced minimum standards for importers who have signed up for the voluntary supply chain security program.
   The program offers incentives, such as reduced likelihood that shipments will be inspected and delayed, to companies that promise to tighten internal controls for facilities, procedures, information and personnel, and engage their foreign suppliers to take similar measures. About 10,000 companies have applied to join the program. Carriers tend to participate to meet the demands of their customers, who want assurances there are no security gaps that could result in inspection delays when they hand over their shipments to transportation providers.
   Mullen, who spoke last week at a conference organized by Chicago-based law firm Gardner Carton & Douglas, said there will be a period to gather feedback from the carrier community, but emphasized that the agency hopes to quickly wrap up the process in a couple of drafts. Developing the criteria for importers dragged on for several months as the agency went through five drafts to address industry concerns.
   CBP also expects to announce next week the start of U.S. inspection activities at the Port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Mullen said. Kaohsiung would be the 38th port in which CBP officers are stationed to conduct joint prescreening and selective inspection of U.S.-bound containers under the Container Security Initiative.
   Mullen said CBP plans to deploy CSI teams to five more ports, including Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santos, Brazil, by the end of the year.    He said plans call for CSI to expand to more than 60 ports by the end of 2006, which would be an increase from the previously stated goal of more than 50 ports.