Information on Mutual Recognition of Supply Chain Security Programs

(World Trade Interactive)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has recently posted to its Web site information on mutual recognition of supply chain security programs with foreign countries. Highlights of this information include the following.

Mutual Recognition Explained: “The essential concept” of mutual recognition is that the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and the counterpart foreign program “are compatible in both theory and practice so that one program may recognize the validation findings of the other program.” Through mutual recognition, “international industry partnership programs are linked so that together they create a unified and sustainable security posture that can assist in securing and facilitating global cargo trade. It means end to end supply chain security based on program membership.”

Customs Compliance Not Included: Mutual recognition is only based on security and does not address customs compliance issues. As a result, mutual recognition does not exempt any partner, whether domestic or foreign, from complying with other CBP-mandated requirements (e.g., the importer security filing rule), nor does it replace any of CBP’s cargo enforcement strategies.

Pre-requisites: Before CBP engages a foreign customs administration toward mutual recognition, the foreign partner must have a full-fledged operational program in place (not a program in development or a pilot program) and that program must have a strong validation process and a strong security component built in. CBP also takes into account the risk associated with the supply lines originating in that country.

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