Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made progress in its voluntary trusted shipper program, called Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), particularly in strengthening its polices for granting benefits to the trade community, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
GAO also says that CBP has taken steps to improve how it validates the security features that C-TPAT members have implemented but still can’t verify if the members are meeting the minimum security standards.
From March 2005 through November 2007 CBP established minimum requirements for C-TPAT members in nine trade sectors for security in their specific sector. The agency has also developed a three-tiered benefits process for C-TPAT importers as called for under the SAFE Port Act based on their sustained commitment to implementing certain supply chain security practices, GAO says in the report, Supply Chain Security: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Has Enhanced Its Partnership With Import Trade Sectors, but Challenges Remain in Verifying Security Practices (GAO-08-240).
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Me.), the ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, praised the GAO report for its analysis of C-TPAT. She also said that recommendations in the report to improve the program are useful.
When it comes to verifying compliance with C-TPAT requirements, GAO says that the computer-based data gathering system that CBP approved security specialists are using has problems. In particular, GAO says the system provides default no responses without clarifying if the security specialist answered a question this way or that chose not to answer.
CBP also lacks a systematic process to make sure that actions recommended by security specialists in validation reports are taken.
“Without such a key internal control, CBP does not have reasonable assurance that companies implement its recommendations to enhance supply chain security practices in accordance with CBP criteria,” GAO says. “Until CBP overcomes these collective challenges, CBP will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices.”
CBP agreed with GAO’s various recommendations for improving C-TPAT, including ensuring that a new automated tool to be used by security specialists in answering questions about a member’s compliance doesn’t provide default no responses. CBP also says it will use members’ internal audits, inspections and reviews for consideration during the validation process and ensure that C-TPAT validation report recommendations to get implementing through an established policy.