A mechanism for continuous, supplemental bonding for importers subject to AD/CV duties will go before a committee in June; a Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism test likely will wrap up in October.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) anticipates finalizing rulemaking to establish separate, supplemental continuous bonds on importers subject to antidumping and/or countervailing duties by the end of the year, and expects to conclude an ongoing pilot on the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) by October, agency officials said Tuesday during a trade conference.
The CBP Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) anticipates making recommendations at its June meeting for CBP regulations for a supplemental AD/CVD bonding mechanism, Lisa Gelsomino, CEO of Avalon Risk Management and member of the COAC Bond Working Group, said during the annual National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) conference in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act Section 115 requires CBP to adjust importers’ bond amounts based on importer risk assessments conducted by CBP to protect federal government revenue.
“Do I think we’re going to see a full [regulatory] package out in June? No,” CBP Executive Director for Commercial Targeting and Enforcement Troy Riley said during the conference. “That being said, is it possible? Yes. If there was the weight of a White House push behind it, I think there’s things that can move heaven and earth. … But realistically, I think you’re looking at something more close to the end of the year.”
As CBP approaches the expected end date of the ongoing CTPAT pilot, “the biggest question” of the trade community is how to ensure CBP’s partner government agencies (PGAs) are able to provide trusted trader benefits whenever the program goes live, said Thomas Overacker, executive director for cargo and conveyance security in CBP’s Office of Field Operations.
“Right now we’re working under the assumption that we’re creating a coalition of the willing,” he said. “Those PGAs that have compliance programs of their own, we’re incorporating that into the trusted trader framework, and those that do not — and I’ll be honest with you — there are some agencies that view risk in a much different way than CBP does … we’ll do everything we can to bring them along with us.”
A document posted for the February COAC meeting indicated CBP plans to roll out CTPAT in a phased approach starting in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019.
CBP is shooting for the rollout of a “unified trusted trader” program across various government agencies in FY 2019, incorporating elements of both compliance and security elements, Overacker said.
The COAC document says that a COAC working group has discussed various issues for incorporation into a revamped CTPAT, including security measures to counter agricultural pests and diseases, cybersecurity issues, non-IT security technology, prevention of money laundering and terror financing, high security seals and highway carrier issues, and security management and administration.
CBP foresees bond rules, trusted trader pilot end
