Lawmakers ask CBP to consider 10+2 pilot

A group of 20 House lawmakers asked the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection in a recent letter to develop a 10+2 pilot program before the rule's full-scale implementation.

The congressmen also asked CBP to give some consideration to those companies that have validated supply chains through the agency's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program.

Questions raised by a variety of stakeholders over the proposed Customs 10+2 rule, which was promulgated as a result of enactment of the Safe Ports Act of 2006, suggest to us that those dual goals may be out of balance and in need of recalibration by CBP,?the lawmakers wrote.

Through the proposed 10+2 rule, also known as the Importer Security Filing (ISF) program, CBP seeks to improve its knowledge about the content, origin and destination of international containers, and identify potential terrorist threats prior to departure from an overseas port. 10+2 requires importers or their agents to provide CBP with 10 data elements before a vessel departs the overseas port. Two additional data elements must be filed to the agency by the vessel operators.

The lawmakers said they have received numerous requests from industry groups, citing risks of hiccups in the supply chain and a call for a gradual rollout of the 10+2 rule.

Astimates vary regarding the amount of delay caused by the proposed rule, the lawmakers said. CBP estimates a 24-hour delay for the first year, dropping to a 12-hour delay thereafter. The business community, however, has documented that applying the rule in real time to company supply chains will delay cargo by 2-5 days depending on the complexity of the supply chain. Industry groups welcomed the House lawmakers?efforts to encourage CBP to consider the 10+2 pilot.

Given the scope of the program and the anticipated costs associated with its implementation, the PCC wants to be sure that the 10+2 works the way that Congress intended when it passed the SAFE Port Act,?said Jack Hubbard, president of the Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Associations (PCC), and California regional manager for TLR Total Logistics Resource, in a Aug. 6 statement.

A pilot program will ensure that there is adequate time to fix any problems with the program and to provide necessary training to both CBP and the trade, he added.