By Calvin Biesecker
The Department of Homeland Security has increasingly been able to target higher volumes of high-risk cargo containers to be examined at overseas ports before being shipped to the United States due to an increase in staffing levels, although challenges in enhancing supply chain security at foreign ports remain, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report.
The report says that Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the DHS component that oversees the program for targeting and inspecting of cargo containers in foreign seaports, is now fully staffed for its mission although it hasn’t determined how to optimize its staff as it expands its assessments of containers, GAO says in, Supply Chain Security: Examinations of High Risk Cargo at Foreign Seaports Have Increased, but Improved Data Collection and Performance Measures Are Needed (GAO-08-187).
Under the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which was begun in 2002, the U.S. government has established partnerships with foreign governments, enabling CBP officials to be stationed at 58 foreign seaports that handle 86 percent of all U.S. bound cargo. GAO investigators say their visits to some of these ports show that CBP’s relationships with these host governments have been improving, which has led to increased information sharing and improved customs and port security practices.
However, the report says, the “collaboration” between the U.S. and host government officials at seaports is uneven. GAO also points to hurdles in what CBP officials can accomplish at the foreign ports, such as some host country legal restrictions preventing CSI teams from observing inspections of containers. GAO also says there are times when high risk cargo can’t be examined due to logistical issues.
The report also says that “CBP lacks a process for systematically gathering information on the equipment, people, and processes used by host governments to examine U.S.-bound cargo containers identified as high risk.” And, the report adds, CBP hasn’t set “minimum technical capability criteria” for inspection equipment used at CSI ports, a recommendation the GAO made nearly three years ago.
“Without such criteria and systematically collected information on equipment, people, and processes involved in each host government’s cargo, CBP does not have a sound basis for determining the reliability of the examination systems used at CSI seaports, which is of particular importance because only small fraction of U.S.-bound high risk containers are re-examined upon arrival in the United States,” GAO says.
The report recommends that CBP find ways to better evaluate its CSI teams, improve collaboration with host government officials, and enhance the CSI performance measurement process. DHS agrees with the need to improve the process for evaluating CSI teams. DHS also agrees that minimal technical criteria should be established for inspection systems and operating procedures. However, CBP says the inspection equipment being used in CSI ports is equal to or better than the equipment it uses in U.S. seaports.