DHS Sec'y Napolitano Details Supply Chain Security Efforts in House Testimony

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working in closely with other federal departments and agencies to translate the high-level the Supply Chain Security Strategy into concrete actions, said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing July 25 on "Understanding the Homeland Threat Landscape."

(See ITT’s Online Archives 12012606 for a summary of Obama Administration’s unveiling in January 2012 of the National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security, which focuses on the global network of transportation, postal, and shipping pathways, assets, and infrastructures by which goods are moved from the point of manufacture until they reach an end consumer, as well as supporting communications infrastructure and systems.)

DHS "continues to advance a range of other measures and programs to strengthen different components of this vital system in partnership with multilateral organizations such as the International Maritime Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the World Customs Organization, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation as well as bilaterally with trading partners," she said. DHS is also "working closely with industry and foreign government partners to identify and address high-risk shipments as early in the shipping process as possible by collecting and analyzing advance electronic commercial data. This allows DHS to make risk informed decisions about what cargo is safe to be loaded onto vessels and aircraft prior to their departure from a foreign port and facilitates the clearance of those shipments upon their arrival in the United States."

Container Security Initiative

For instance, under the Container Security Initiative (CSI), CBP works with host government customs services to examine high-risk maritime containerized cargo at foreign seaports, before they are loaded on board vessels destined for the United States, she said. CSI teams currently operate at 58 ports in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin and Central America—covering about 80 percent of all maritime containerized cargo imported into the United States. DHS is also working with leaders from global shipping companies and the International Air Transport Association to develop preventive measures, including terrorism awareness training for employees and vetting personnel with access to cargo. The U.S. is also reviewing foreign partners’ cargo screening to determine whether their programs provide a level of security commensurate with U.S. air cargo security standards. Those who meet these requirements are officially recognized to conduct screening for cargo traveling to the U.S. .

DHS is also focused on preventing the exploitation of the global supply chain. For example, under Program Global Shield, we are working with more than 90 countries to prevent the illegal theft or diversion of precursor chemicals that can be used to make Improvised Explosive Devices, said Napolitano. More than 62 metric tons have been seized, she said.

DHS, through ICE and CBP, also continues to investigate U.S. export control law violations, including those related to military items, controlled “dual-use” commodities, and sanctioned or embargoed countries. DHS is "committed to ensuring that foreign adversaries do not illegally obtain U.S. military products and sensitive technology, including weapons of mass destruction and their components, or attempt to move these items through the global supply chain," she said. "In Fiscal Year 2011, ICE initiated 1,780 new investigations into illicit procurement activities, made 583 criminal arrests, and accounted for 2,332 seizures valued at $18.9 million. ICE also manages and operates the Export Enforcement Coordination Center, an interagency hub for streamlining and coordinating export enforcement activities and exchanging information and intelligence."