CBP shoots for June publication of “10+2”
May 16, 2007
16 May 2007
CBP shoots for June publication of “10+2”
This article is excerpted from the 16 May 2007 edition of “American Shipper”.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection hopes its notice of proposed rulemaking requiring importers and ocean carriers to submit a dozen pieces of advance shipment data will be published sometime in June, Deputy Commissioner Deborah Spero said Tuesday.
CBP has been on a crash course since November to produce a regulation for advance data about the origin and destination of international cargo to improve the agency's analytical capability and pre-screen suspicious shipments for security inspections overseas or upon arrival at a U.S. port.
Under the nascent proposal, known as "10+2," importers would be required to electronically transmit a security filing with supplier and consignee data to CBP 24 hours prior to vessel loading in a foreign port, in keeping with the current advance manifest timeframe for carriers. Vessel operators would subsequently provide two data elements related to handling of the containers.
CBP has been trying for three years to identify commercial data elements and the best system for collecting data to improve its cargo targeting. But Congress in the SAFE Port Act mandated the agency to produce an advance trade data rule within a year. Most of the information sought by CBP relates to names and addresses of supply chain partners.
Spero told the Department of Homeland Security's Commercial Operations Advisory Committee that her fingers were crossed for a public release of the proposed rule June, but acknowledged that timeframe "may be optimistic."
The final draft of the rule … is being routed to CBP leadership for final approval. …
The "10+2" rule is expected to have a major impact on current international trade practices. Importers, or their agents, will have extra work trying to collect all the information and submit it in a timely fashion. Small and medium-sized businesses could have more difficulty because they often don't have the same resources as larger companies to verify details about the original manufacturer or final receiver of the goods….