Representatives from the World Customs Organization (WCO) conducted a workshop on their instruments such as the Economic Competitiveness Package and the Revised Kyoto Convention, during a workshop at CBP headquarters, WCO said. Other topics included the WCO’s SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade, “a unique international instrument which has ushered in a safer world trade regime and heralded a new approach to the end-to-end management of goods moving across borders while recognizing the significance of a closer partnership between Customs and business.” WCO said participants also discussed efforts to promote establishing the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs, businesses validated by customs authorities to “engage in a self-assessment process measured against predetermined security standards and best practices to ensure that their internal policies and procedures provide adequate safeguards against compromise of their supply chains until cargo is released” from customs at the destination.
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Shippers will see a clear need to integrate their import compliance and operations functions and processes in order to better leverage resources and investment in technology, leading to more efficiencies, said a report released by Livingston International. But it said "there's little to suggest that this shift has yet taken place." The survey also found Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Importer Self-Assessment (ISA) "aren't as beneficial as the majority of importers would like them to be" and that 60 percent of shippers said they're uncertain of the benefits of C-TPAT participation, see less benefit than anticipated, or no benefit at all. Just 11 percent said the program has delivered all that it promised, Livingston said. The picture is even worse for ISA, the report said: "A third of respondents say they derive no benefit from the program, and nearly one half say they are uncertain of its benefits."
The timeframe for implementation of an export arm to the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) has yet to be decided, as CBP continues work to figure out related incentives and security criteria, agency officials and business leaders said. The export inclusion will likely begin as a pilot program and ultimately seeks to provide increased commercial opportunities for U.S. companies, said CBP. The agency is now developing a framework to incorporate an export component to the voluntary trusted trader C-TPAT program (see 13082223).
Pharmaceutical and trade groups urged FDA to tread lightly as it puts in place new requirements for drug importers under the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI), and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) each submitted comments in favor of an FDA definition of importer that recognizes that trade services firms like customs brokers can’t be responsible for compliance. They also said FDA should be careful not to impose new data submission requirements that are too onerous. AAEI and PhRMA pushed FDA to establish a trusted drug importer program based on the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), and NCBFAA cautioned against a repeat of the U.S. agent dilemma caused by FDA’s foreign food facility registration requirements.
CBP is in the process of developing an export component to the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorist (C-TPAT) meant to address security risks posed by exports in the international supply chain, said Acting Director of Imports/Exports in the CBP Office of Field Operations Ted Clifton said during an Aug. 21 webinar held by Integration Point. Clifton said C-TPAT is “an emerging concept for exports”.
The Food and Drug Administration will soon begin its secure supply chain pilot program for pharmaceuticals, it said in a Federal Register notice set for publication Aug. 20. The pilot, originally announced in 2009 (see 09011620), will allow expedited entry for finished drug products and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from participating importers. FDA said it will accept applications beginning Sept. 16 until Dec. 31, and will begin the pilot in February 2014. The agency intends to run the pilot for two years, until February 2016, it said.
CBP is extending the comment period to Aug. 26 for an existing information collection for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. CBP proposes to extend the expiration date of this information collection with a change to the burden hours.
CBP's C-TPAT reached a total of 10,572 certified partners by July 1, according to CBP's July achievements report. Staffing level reached 154 and there were 327 Tier 3 importers, it said. A total of 23,054 validations were completed, including 11,928 initial validations and 11,126 revalidations. There were a total of 1,659 suspensions and 1,211 removals, CBP said.
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