Securing and Facilitating Trade through U.S. Land Borders

Abstract

A paradigm shift in U.S. policy about inbound commercial shipments has occurred in recent years. Before September 11, 2001, U.S. Customs Services’ regulation of imported goods focused primarily on trade compliance. Since then, Customs’ priority mission has become preventing terrorism against the United States. Two volunteer programs, the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) initiative, were created to reconcile supply chain security and trade facilitation goals. Customs has successfully engaged thousands of companies in trade security by offering benefits such as fewer inspections and expedited border processing. However, this approach is viable only if resources and mechanisms exist to ensure that the shipments being facilitated are indeed more secure. The security practices of current C-TPAT enrollees may not be validated for months or years because of funding and staffing constraints. These limitations also prevent Customs from integrating stakeholders with crucial roles in U.S. trade into C-TPAT and FAST. To improve the ability of these initiatives to safeguard U.S. supply chains, the federal government must increase program funding levels. This will allow more prompt verification of the security of enrollees and expansion of the process to key stakeholders not currently covered under the programs. As technology improves and the number of FAST movements grows, Customs should consider mandating the use of tamper-evident technology as a prerequisite for participation in C-TPAT and FAST. Finally, additional applications for FAST transponders should be pursued to improve security, safety, and efficiency in the border-crossing process.