Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism: A Year in Review

(U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and its focus on strengthening supply chain security is an important layer in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) cargo enforcement strategy. Through this initiative, CBP is asking businesses to ensure the integrity of their security practices and communicate and verify the security guidelines of their business partners within the supply chain.

The partnership, referred to as C-TPAT, has performed more than 6,900 total validations since 2003.

“Our supply chain specialists are traveling throughout the world, working with C-TPAT members to protect international commerce from the risk of terrorist incident,” said C-TPAT Director Bradd Skinner.

C-TPAT accomplishments during calendar year 2007 include:

• Supply chain security specialist visited manufacturing and logistics facilities in 79 countries, representing some of the most terrorist prone and high risk areas of the world.

• C-TPAT validated 3,011 supply chains, representing a 27 percent increase from 2006. Of the 3,011 validations conducted, 601 or 20 percent were revalidations. This was the first year that C-TPAT began re-verifying supply chains.

• C-TPAT certified 2,601 new members in accordance with SAFE Port Act requirements.

• C-TPAT Tier III status was granted to 17 companies as a result of the validation process.

• C-TPAT suspended or removed 112 companies from the program for security breeches or failure to meet C-TPAT’s minimum security criteria as revealed in the validation process. Of the 112 companies, 47 were either conditionally or fully reinstated in the C-TPAT program after they demonstrated to CBP’s satisfaction that immediate and sustained corrective action had been taken.

Supply chain security specialists conducted on-site visits to review the security practices of those members that were involved in a security breech. Without exception no additional security breeches occurred once these companies were reinstated.

• C-TPAT made progress on additional SAFE Port Act mandates including the development of a 3rd Party Validation pilot program.

• To enhance the supply chain security processes and procedures of its members, minimum-security criteria were issued for Mexican long haul carriers, U.S. and foreign-based marine port authority and terminal operators, foreign manufacturers and air carriers. These criteria were developed in close consultation with the trade community and other US agencies where appropriate.

• C-TPAT signed a mutual recognition agreement with New Zealand’s Customs Service and established work plans with several other countries to achieve similar arrangements.

• With respect to outreach, C-TPAT conducted enrollment seminars along the southwest border, in Mexico City and during its annual trade conference. Additionally, C-TPAT participated in more than 100 conferences and seminars throughout the world.

The University of Virginia conducted a survey on behalf of CBP to determine member’s perceptions regarding the cost, benefits and motivations to join the program. The results demonstrated that C-TPAT has moved thousands of companies to provide closer scrutiny to the security of the goods they handle and to ensure that their overseas suppliers have implemented sound security practices. C-TPAT will undertake future studies of this sort to assess its effectiveness.

“When you consider what C-TPAT accomplished in 2007, you can see that we are producing solid results” said Skinner. “We met the SAFE Port Act’s certification and validation requirements and that is a key metric for us. We are holding members accountable to meet their commitments to the program but doing so in the spirit of collaboration.”