CBP to sponsor countries to implement WCO security plan

CBP to sponsor countries to implement WCO security plan    The United States is considering adopting 10 to 12 developing countries and mentoring them through the process of implementing the global supply chain security model approved by the World Customs Organization last summer, said Audrey Adams, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s new deputy assistant commissioner for international affairs.
   Under the direction of Commissioner Robert Bonner, CBP is building a coalition of donor countries that will provide training and technical assistance to countries that want to modernize their customs operations, but lack the expertise or resources to automate container threat analysis and inspections.
   CBP, along with the European Union and countries such as France, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand will design programs to help developing nations expand their customs capabilities and bring them up to international standards. Adams, who briefed the Department of Homeland Security’s Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) at its quarterly meeting in Los Angeles Thursday, said the agency is helping match needy countries to donors so that assistance is evenly spread out.
   CBP said earlier this year the U.S. government was prepared to spend $20 million on capacity building efforts. Adams said CBP would not give aid to foreign governments with inherent corruption problems.
   “We have made the decision to only give capacity building assistance to those countries that try to address corruption issues and have systematic controls in place. We can’t invest money in a country whose customs administration fundamentally is not going to benefit” from assistance, she said.
   All countries that intend to implement the WCO framework have completed a WCO diagnostic questionnaire to help them evaluate the state of their customs operations. Countries seeking U.S. capacity building assistance have completed a separate U.S. self-assessment test to determine their needs for technical assistance, Adams said.