CBP Discussing Trusted Trader Alignment with Canada, Mexico

CBP is actively discussing how to harmonize its Trusted Trader program with similar program in Canada and Mexico, said Maria Luisa Boyce, senior trade advisor at CBP, during a Dec. 4 webinar hosted by Integration Point. "We are in conversations with Canada and Mexico on how we align our programs," she said. CBP is testing a new Trusted Trader program that combines the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism supply chain security program with the Importer Self Assessment (ISA) import compliance program (see 14101019).

Asked specifically about aligning the programs with Canada, Boyce said there are some big differences between CBP's ISA and the Canada Border Services Agency's Customs Self-Assessment Program (CSA). "Part of the conversations that we're having is how do we harmonize the communication, the data elements and some of the requirements that we have from a CBP perspective that might not be similar to some of the requirements that CBSA has," she said. "However, we are working very close together and I think we will" be able to reach a "good joint approach" as part of the Beyond the Border initiative, said Boyce.

It's not yet certain whether the new Trusted Trader program will be wrapped into the planned C-TPAT 2.0 portal, said Boyce. "We really have to learn more about the process and how it works," she said. CBP plans to begin use of the new portal Dec. 8 (see 1411180013).