Third party validation for C-TPAT still tough sale

Third party validation for C-TPAT still tough sale Many shippers still find it difficult to accept the possibility of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's future use of third party firms to validate overseas supply chains for participation in the agency's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism.
   'The importer is responsible for dealing with the risk. Government is responsible for dealing with the threat,' said Paul Runta, head of corporate supply chain security for Portland, Ore.-based Nike, to attendees at a World Customs Organization meeting in Brussels Tuesday.
   'We want the money spent and resources directed to (C-TPAT validations). We want it for more agents and training,' Runta said. 'We do not want it to be used as a profit center' for third party validation firms.
   Runta said C-TPAT integrity is the responsibility of the approved importers, logistics providers, carriers, and the U.S. government. He added that if third parties are used for C-TPAT validations, they should be tightly regulated as 'agents' of the government.
   'We're liable and we'll be standing there, if something happens,' Runta said. He said all parties to the C-TPAT program should have 'a stake in the game' and third party validation firms should not be exempt.
   As part of the SAFE Ports Act, passed by Congress in 2006, CBP was authorized to conduct a pilot of third parties for validating C-TPAT activities in China, since China at the time did not allow CBP officers into the country to carry out the validations. Eleven third party validation firms were picked by CBP in July 2007 for the pilot. Less than 15 C-TPAT participants signed up for the pilot.
   'To say it met with resistance (from the industry) would be an understatement,' said Kelby Woodard of the Trusted Trade Alliance, a customs and trade consultancy. 'Companies didn't trust the validators.'
   The U.S. and Chinese governments recently came to an agreement to allow CBP officers in China to conduct C-TPAT validations.
   However, some customs and industry officials believe that third party firms to validate 'trusted shipper' or authorized economic operator (AEO) programs will be particularly important in the future for resource-constrained customs administrations of developing countries and for expanding these supply chain security programs beyond the industrialized countries.
   'By having more feet on the ground, supply chain security can be increased and the benefits spread further,' said Nick Allen, supply chain security manager for third party validation firm Cal Safety Compliance. ' Chris Gillis