Weekly Trade Briefings

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U.S. and China Begin Pilot C-TPAT Validation Program

Posted on: 2008-04-02

On March 24th, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the implementation of a pilot C-TPAT validation program in China in cooperation with China's General Administration of Customs. The program is being conducted with the voluntary participation of three U.S. importers whose supply chains predominately originate in China. Chinese Customs is heading the validation initiative using the C-TPAT minimum security criteria as a guide and has completed the first validation with technical assistance from CBP supply chain security specialists. The pilot program could allow for more C-TPAT participants to qualify for Tier 3 status. This designation allows those that have been C-TPAT certified and validated and that exceed the program's minimum security criteria to receive benefits such as expedited cargo release during all threat levels, fewer cargo exams, priority cargo searches and bigger reductions in Automated Targeting System risk scores. CBP notes that the three companies involved in the pilot have been ineligible for Tier 3 status due to CBP's inability to validate security procedures in China; currently importers sourcing predominantly from China are limited to Tier 1 status. CBP will now use this information to decide whether these companies can receive higher level benefits. In addition, CBP and China Customs will jointly evaluate the pilot program and determine next steps. More than 300 other companies that source most of their production from China could become eligible for Tier 3 benefits if this validation program is expanded. CBP had been pilot testing a program allowing third-party validations in China, but the article notes that only about a dozen companies have taken advantage of it.