CBP Lacks Performance Targets, Short on Staffing to Enforce Trade Laws, GAO Report Says

CBP can’t assess the effectiveness of enforcement activities largely because its plans generally lack targets to evaluate performance, and the agency continues to fall short of congressionally directed staffing levels in some job categories, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released June 12 (here). CBP hasn’t met minimum staffing levels set by Congress for four of nine positions that perform customs revenue functions over the past five years, said the report, which was mandated by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA)

While CBP has plans to set goals and objectives for its Priority Trade Issues, the plans generally lack targets to measure achievements and effectiveness, yet some performance measures exist. Officials from the CBP Office of Trade targeting groups -- consisting of the National Targeting and Analysis Groups and Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center -- told the GAO that import specialists are inconsistent with recording results of importer reviews they perform, impeding the groups’ ability to evaluate the effectiveness of their targeting rules.

The report notes that TFTEA mandates that CBP and ICE form a joint strategic plan by Feb. 24, 2017, incorporating enforcement activities and performance measures, but doesn’t require the plan to include targets. CBP declined to share a copy of the draft plan with the GAO or to discuss the extent to which it would identify performance measures and targets to allow CBP to evaluate the effectiveness of its actions with regard to Priority Trade Issues, “because the plan is still changing.” However, CBP provided the GAO with “various plans” for its Priority Trade Issues. Only one of the plans was current, while the other six Priority Trade Issues either didn’t have a plan or were using plans not updated in several years, the GAO said. But the Office of Trade told the GAO that CBP is “in the process” of finalizing new plans for Priority Trade Issues with old or no plans.

Staff of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) are adjusting to a more remote work environment, as import specialists transition from reporting to a supervisor and port director at their port to reporting to the one of 10 CEEs they are assigned to, the GAO said. While entry specialists are currently reporting to local port supervisors and managers, they will report to and be managed by one of the 10 CEEs later in fiscal 2017, the GAO said.

CEE management and staff are increasing their use of technology, teleconferences and webcams, and undergoing training to facilitate building remote teams, the report says. ICE Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) officials collaborating with CBP on trade enforcement are also adjusting to the layout, as HSI agents working on a case involving a commodity assigned to a particular CEE must often work with import specialists remotely assigned to that CEE, the GAO said. “This has caused a decrease in cooperation and communication between CBP and HSI resulting in fewer investigations, according to HSI.” Field offices have “generally been supportive” to the CEEs’ budget, as the field offices that house each of the CEE directors have discretion on budget matters and mission support for the centers, the GAO said.

CBP continues to run staffing shortages in four of nine mandated trade positions -- import specialist, customs auditor, national import specialist and drawback specialist -- and staffing levels generally decreased between fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2016, the GAO said. The mandatory statutory minimum staffing level for import specialists is 954, but CBP fielded only 917 at the end of fiscal year 2016. Further, CBP staffed 321 customs auditors at the end of last fiscal year, 43 fewer than the mandated level; staffed 77 national import specialists at the end of fiscal 2016, 20 fewer than the statutory minimum; and employed 36 drawback specialists at the end of last fiscal year, one fewer than the mandated staffing level.

The GAO recommended that the CBP commissioner direct the Office of Trade to include applicable performance targets in the Priority Trade Issue strategic and annual plans. The GAO also recommended that the commissioner instruct the Office of Trade and Office of Field Operations to craft a long-term hiring plan outlining how CBP will reach staffing targets for trade positions. The Department of Homeland Security told the GAO it concurs with the recommendations and CBP’s offices of Trade and Field Operations will partner with CBP Enterprise Services and Office of Human Resources Management to identify stakeholders in each office, define challenges that have resulted in hiring gaps in statutorily set trade-related positions, and create a long-term hiring and resource plan to address hiring gaps on a continual basis. The expected completion date for these hiring objectives is Feb. 28, 2018.

To improve performance assessment, CBP’s Office of Trade will include performance targets in the Fiscal Year 2018 Priority Trade Issue strategic and annual plans, where applicable, DHS said. “A review is being conducted of current performance measures and results to help establish performance target baselines,” DHS said. “The performance targets are dependent upon external factors, such as availability of resources and the dynamics/changes in international trade, which may impact CBP’s ability to fully attain the annual performance targets.” The estimated completion date for the performance targets objectives is Sept. 30.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Dave Reichert, R-Wash., chairman of the panel's Trade Subcommittee, in statements (here) said work needs to be done to improve CBP trade enforcement efforts. Brady pointed his finger at the Obama administration for "consistently" failing "to prioritize staffing for key trade positions at CBP despite Congressional requirements."