Kerlikowske finishes CBP tenure with praise on trade issues

U.S. Customs Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske had a steadying influence on trade matters, but a Trump administration could shake things up next year.    Gil Kerlikowske is receiving solid marks from people within and outside U.S. Customs and Border Protection as he wraps up two years and nine months of service as commissioner of the nation’s largest law enforcement agency. A departure date hasn’t been announced, but the Obama administration officially hands over power to Donald Trump on Jan. 20.
   A former big-city police chief and White House drug czar, Kerlikowske was the first commissioner confirmed by the Senate in five years. He quickly dispelled early concern in the trade community that he would assume a tough enforcement posture without regard for cargo delays or bureaucratic red tape by becoming a strong advocate for trade facilitation efforts. A major part of CBP’s mission is border patrol and processing travelers, but on the trade side, Kerlikowske is credited with finalizing implementation of the massive enterprise computer system, known as the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), pushing other government agencies to streamline import clearance by adopting ACE and the International Trade Data System (ITDS) as part of their normal routines, and institutionalizing the Centers for Excellence and Expertise.
   “He did a lot of work to bring together the agency and the trade community. I hope the next commissioner picks up where he left off in balancing enforcement and facilitation,” Jonathan Gold, vice president supply chain and customs policy, said.
   President-elect Donald Trump has picked retired Marine Corps General John F. Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security, but there has been no news or speculation yet on who he plans to name as CBP commissioner.
   Kerlikowske told the crowd at CBP’s annual Trade Symposium in Washington earlier this month that it makes a huge difference in the agency’s ability to meet new challenges when it has a confirmed commissioner. Customs operated under a string of acting commissioners and one, Alan Bersin, who was temporarily installed by President Obama using a technical loophole to overcome Senate objections. Governance experts say having a permanent leader is needed to advocate for the agency on Capitol Hill and within the administration to ensure it is involved in interagency policymaking and receives adequate resources.
   President Obama in 2014 set a deadline for agencies with jurisdiction over trade matters to process forms and make clearance decisions through ITDS by the end of this year. The ACE/ITDS infrastructure is now in place, but industry has a few weeks extra time to transition electronic filing of a few remaining transaction types from the existing legacy system to the new “single window” system. And some agencies are still not fully online yet. Kerlikowske made ACE deployment a top priority and used the relatively new Border Interagency Executive Council to educate agency chiefs on how to adopt risk management principles and ACE to speed up decisions on which imports to inspect. 
   “The major defining characteristic of his tenure has been the increase in the development and speed in which ACE has been rolled out,” Megan Montgomery, executive vice president of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, said. “While there certainly have been some challenges in that rollout, when you step back and look at the big picture, we’re much further along than originally anticipated.”
   ACE, which suffered from mismanagement and cost overruns during its 15-plus years of development, is expected to make trade processing and communication with the government much easier.
   “I think he’s had a heavy lift with the [Obama] executive order and he had his soldiers in line doing their part to make it happen,” Sandra Scott, senior director of compliance at Chicago-based SEKO Logistics, said. Even though implementation dates for some modules got pushed back, they weren’t realistic and the agency’s ability to listen to trade concerns allowed for a smoother transition to ACE, she added.
   “He’s done a far more successful job than I thought based on his background. I had concerns that trade facilitation would slip, but that has not been the case,” and he spread that message to other agencies, Virginia Thompson, vice president of product management at Integration Point, a trade management software provider, said.
   Michael White, director of cargo facilitation security and standards for the International Air Transport Association’s U.S. affiliate, praised Kerlikowske for balancing security and trade needs, and for filling leadership posts around him with top talent.
   He named Brenda Smith to head the Office of International Trade, Todd Owen to lead field operations, filled many positions that were held on an “acting” basis and realigned headquarters to streamline decision-making.
   “I think he’s got a great team behind him. It’s probably the strongest team that CBP has ever had in my last 25 years of dealing with them,” White said. “It would be great if every government agency were like that. And I think that’s why CBP will continue to be strong in the next administration.”
   Kerlikowske also reached out heavily to other international agencies and trade partners, pushed the “Single Window” concept as an international goal, and pushed Ana Hinojosa’s successful election as director of the World Customs Organization’s Compliance and Facilitation Directorate.
   “It’s hard to say anything negative about Kerlikowske,” White said. “From my perspective, he’s been outstanding as a commissioner.”
   Not everyone was as positive about Kerlikowske’s time in office. Some industry officials privately expressed disappointment that he didn’t do more on the trade front to reduce bureaucracy.
   But many of those who worked with him in the agency are fans.
   Deputy Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, in his remarks at the Trade Symposium, said Kerlikowske brought a tremendous amount of experience to the job. “I have learned something new from him every day and I hope to emulate a number of his leadership qualities going forward,” McAleenan said.
   McAleenan, who was elevated from acting deputy to the permanent post, is likely to head the agency in the interlude between Kerlikowske and confirmation of Trump’s political appointee.
   Several current and former CBP officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, characterized Kerlikowske as a rank-and-file commissioner who connected with officers and career specialists.
   One official, who recently retired from Customs, said Kerlikowske was very engaged in all issues, did not micromanage and encouraged people to bring problems to his desk because he did not bash the messenger. The commissioner then took a calm approach when moving to address those issues, a couple individuals said.
   Another high-ranking official said the commissioner is good at letting staff experts drive initiatives and programs. He also supported the workforce internally and externally, building relationships with the White House, DHS, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Commerce Department and other agencies, and ensuring CBP had a seat at the National Security Council table, the official said.
   Other parts of the government may not always fully understand the challenges to implementing a proposed policy related to border management, so having the commissioner there to explain the realities is important, the civil servant said.
   Asked whether a Trump presidency might bring turmoil to existing strategies and programs, the official took a sanguine view: “Nobody likes change. It’s uneasy. But nobody likes the slow pace of bureaucracy either.
   “Government is hard. We’re often told something is too difficult to do. So, if we have some disruption, breaking down the political walls that previously prevented things from moving ahead, maybe that’s good.”