DHS Updates Northern Border Strategy

The Department of Homeland Security updated its Northern Border Strategy (NBS) for the first time since it was issued in 2012 (see 12060723), DHS said in a news release. DHS said the "strategy establishes a clear vision and concrete actions that will improve DHS’s efforts to safeguard our northern border against terrorist and criminal threats, facilitate the safe and efficient flow of lawful cross-border trade and travel, and strengthen cross-border critical infrastructure protection and community resilience."

DHS is now working on an NBS implementation plan, it said. That plan "will include measures that enable DHS to evaluate progress toward addressing any identified capability gaps on the northern border," it said. "Together, the Strategy and its companion Implementation Plan will improve the Department’s oversight and optimize resource utilization in support of enhancing security, travel, trade, and resiliency along the U.S. - Canada border."

The NBS outlines three goals for DHS at the northern border:

• Enhance border security operations through better information sharing, improved domain awareness, and integrated operations.
• Facilitate and safeguard lawful trade and travel by enhancing rapid inspection and screening, enforcing a fair trade environment, and bolstering border infrastructure.
• Promote cross-border resilience by supporting response and recovery capabilities between federal, state, local, tribal and Canadian partners.

Protecting the U.S. economy "involves targeting and stopping evasive trade practices, intellectual property rights violators, and the use of forced labor supply chains," DHS said. "DHS must continue to enhance our ability to identify, document, and assess cross-border cargo to determine risk and evaluate legitimacy without inhibiting legitimate trade flows. The Department must also continue to develop collaborative partnerships with the private sector, Canadian, and non-federal domestic and international law enforcement partners to deter and detect illicit trade activities," it said.

DHS also set nine "sub-objectives" as a means toward improving trade facilitation. Those objectives are:

• Enhance screening and detection technologies through integrated research, development, and innovation programs.
• Promote and improve interoperability to conduct integrated operations to facilitate trade.
• Increase private sector participation in Trusted Trader programs to expedite the flow of cargo across the border.
• Improve processes with Canadian partners for identifying high-risk importers and transactions.
• Develop bilateral vessel entry and examination requirements to expedite the flow of commerce.
• Improve targeting methods and procedures for identifying and screening high risk importers and transactions.
• Enhance enforcement of trade laws and regulations.
• Strengthen collection of and enforce fees, duties, penalties, and tariffs.
• Coordinate trade facilitation and security requirements with Canada and pursue solutions for addressing policy differences that impact trade and security as appropriate.

The NBS also highlights the need for infrastructure improvements along the Northern border. "As the volume and frequency of border trade and travel continue to increase, DHS must ensure that [ports of entry] POEs and other critical Northern Border facilities are sufficiently resourced, staffed, and that their infrastructure is capable of meeting mission requirements." While new technologies have expedited the screening process, "much of the infrastructure on the Northern Border is nearing or beyond its designated life cycle and lacks the structural or technological capacity to fully maximize these innovations," DHS said.