Experts: Advance cargo data already in CBP systems

Experts: Advance cargo data already in CBP systems    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's effort to gather advance data on air cargo so it can be rated for risk before departure could be simplified by pulling information about regular shipments from the Customs accounts of known shippers, according to a trade specialist.
   Customs and Border Protection, in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration and the air cargo industry, has just begun to test ways to get sooner the cargo data that resides on the air carrier's manifest and is transmitted while the plane is en route to the United States. CBP officials have determined they don't need the entire manifest right away, just the data elements associated with the cargo itself. The goal is to funnel the data through CBP's automated targeting system to flag suspicious shipments for inspection before they are loaded on a plane.
   But Jim Phillips, a customs manager at General Motors Corp., recommended Tuesday that much data could be provided well ahead of a shipment if it is taken from an already existing account, or corporate profile, in CBP's system rather than trying to capture it each time there is a transaction to transport the same commodity on the same route on a recurring basis.
   He made his comments to DHS officials as an audience member at a global supply chain competitiveness symposium held by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington.
   'A lot of industries are truly just-in-time. If there's any way to look at accounts or data that can be preset up that can lower that time period ahead that TSA, CBP needs the data (that would be good) because the further back on those critical time-sensitive shipments the data needs to be provided the greater the difficulty in actually getting it to where we need it,' he said. The fear, he suggested, is that cargo may have to sit while it waits for the carrier to obtain certain data elements from shippers and intermediaries.
   Importers can establish accounts in the Automated Commercial Environment, the new commercial trade processing system being developed by CBP. Through a secure, online data portal, companies doing business with Customs can track their import activity and compliance history consolidated into a national view and use special report functions to manage and organize the data. CBP can also view the consolidated data.
   Many companies and trade groups are pushing Customs to give preferential treatment to highly compliant companies that repeatedly ship the same products over the same routes so their shipments aren't held up for document checks at the border. Using account-based data for security screening fits within that model of holding companies accountable for compliance rather than checking each shipment.
   CBP is already relying on advance data from importers, through the Importer Security Filing, to make inspection determinations for ocean cargo.

Bersin

   Commissioner Alan Bersin, who has been on the job less than a year, is trying to convince the trade community to share more data upfront as part of a 'grand bargain' to reduce regulatory friction at the border.
   Customs only expects importers and carriers to submit the best available data at the time to support its risk management strategy, but will not use the early data to trip up companies for technical mistakes when they file documents with more updated information closer to arrival of the shipment, Brenda Brockman Smith, executive director for trade policy and programs, told the gathering. Importers often don't receive the actual quantity, value or other information about a shipment from suppliers until the cargo is at sea.
      CBP officials stressed in the run-up to the ISF enforcement deadline last January that the so-called '10+2' data would not be used for trade compliance purposes or to ding companies for missing the filing deadline by a few minutes.
   'We not looking as an enforcement initiative to nitpick the differences between early data and data that's provided a little bit later,' she said, noting that ISF penalty decisions have to be routed to CBP headquarters to prevent frivolous actions against importers.
   'We're looking to work with the data, not penalize you for it.' ' Eric Kulisch