CTPAT Participants Survey Shows Desire for More Communication, Continued Use of Remote Video Contact

Members of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program would like to see better communication and a continued reliance on virtual visits, the University of Houston Borders, Trade and Immigration Institute found in a recently released study. “CTPAT is already taking action to address areas of improvement found within the study such as providing increased training for [supply chain security specialists (SCSS)] and looking into a formal mechanism for collecting member feedback,” CTPAT Director-Office of Field Operations Manuel Garza said in a note to members. Garza said he plans to create an internal task force to review the findings.

CTPAT participants would like more communication from CBP headquarters, the report found. “Other suggestions by Program Members for improvements in communications include an increase in seminars and webinars, additional training opportunities, the establishment of CTPAT workgroups or advisory boards to allow direct communication with specific industries, a regular newsletter from field offices or headquarters, and additional CTPAT conferences,” it said. CBP field office and port staff also wish for more communication between headquarters and the ports, “indicating that there is no formal process in place to create an effective dialogue.”

In-person contact between the trade and SCSS was cut way back when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but that has meant more remote video interactions, the report said. “It would benefit the Program and membership to continue the utilization of remote video communications and less travel in the long-term to have greater, more consistent communication while addressing the realities of resource limitations.”

Not all CTPAT members view the program benefits the same way, the report said. “Importers cite the more official, tangible Program benefits as being most important to them, such as 'reduced examinations,' but most of the rest of the CTPAT community (Carriers, Foreign Manufacturers, Brokers) cite the more intangible, unofficial Program benefits, such as 'more competitive business' and 'enhanced brand reputation' as being most important,” the survey found. The role of unofficial benefits may be worth more exploration because “if brand strengthening and business competitiveness are enough for many Members, this could reduce the burden on CTPAT of trying to deliver multiple benefits to diverse entities,” it said. “This refined focus on more targeted benefits can also be used as a marketing tool for the industry.”

CBP leadership is likely to take a close look at the study results, said Brett Laduzinsky, a director at consultancy CT Strategies, which helped with the survey. “The trade missions is a major competent of CBP's overall mission and CTPAT members represent a significant portion of the stakeholders that are so critical to that trade mission,” said Laduzinsky, who worked at CBP until 2013 and was speaking during the BTI Institute annual meeting. “And the CTPAT program is such an important driver of the outreach and the engagement that happens with the trade community on behalf of the agency, so ensuring that the program is staying up to date and continuously improving is important, not just at the program level, but I would say at the highest levels of the agency.”