CBP Plans 2 New CEEs by End of FY 2012, Details Part 111 ANPR, Etc.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to establish two more Centers for Excellence and Expertise (CEEs) by the end of FY 2012, and five more after that by the end of FY 2013, CBP said in an updated "Trade Transformation" document. CBP said it is planning to establish a center for Automotive and Aerospace in Detroit and a Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals center in Houston.

Future Locations Not Included

The document includes a map of the locations of the two current CEEs and planned Detroit and Houston locations but doesn't specify the future locations, unlike previous "Trade Transformation" updates.

(See ITT's Online Archives 11102610 for summary of the establishment of the CEEs. See ITT's Online Archives 12020903 for summary of CBP's February 2012 list of the locations of the nine current and pending CEEs.)

"Trade Intelligence" Pilot

The document also describes a "Trade Intelligence" pilot in which individuals representing the industry sectors are assigned to work with CEE and other staff to identify issues of mutual interest and to provide CBP with targeting, enforcement, and/or intelligence information.

The Pilot's aim isto deploy three Private Sector Intelligence Liaison Officers (PSILO) for the following trade industries:

• Semiconductor Industry (Under the Electronics CEE).
• Pharmaceuticals (Under the Pharmaceutical CEE).
• Tube and Pipe (Under HQ OT staff).

(According to CBP, the CEEs represent “Tailor-Made Trade”; aligning CBP trade processing along industry sectors for maximum efficiency. Trade Intelligence takes co-creation to the next level by leveraging the private sector to develop actionable trade intelligence.)

Role of the Broker

The document also includes an update on the role of the broker. A coming advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) for 19 CFR Part 111 will look at:

• Continuing education for licensed brokers
• Due process proceedings for brokers, including penalties and suspension and revocation of licenses
• Establishing bona fides and broker relationships with unlicensed parties
• “Business model alignment” between the trade and CBP, which includes conducting customs business within the geographic bounds of the United States and rethinking the district permitting requirements in the modern business environment

According to CBP, the move to automation of the broker exam application in February has led to: less administrative burden for CBP port and headquarters personnel, fewer steps in the transmission of data, increased security of personally identifiable information, elimination of last-minute additions resulting from errors in current data transmission process, and reduced time between the application and exam notification to applicants.

(See ITT's Online Archives 12021019 and 12021411 for summaries of CBP's February versions of this document.)