by | Mar 3, 2013 | Transport

Cuts will be made across the board, with no preference by port of arrival

US Customs and Border Protection released its framework for minimizing the impact on trade of budget cuts mandated under sequestration, which became effective March 1. Key points:

  • Companies participating in C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) and ACAS (Air Cargo Advance Screening) can count on uninterrupted access to their CBP points of contact.
  • CBP will initiate national weekly conference calls that will give cargo industry stakeholders the opportunity to raise trade issues related to sequestration.
  • CBP’s core antiterrorism mission will not be compromised. Radiation Portal Monitors will continue to be used at their current rates. But there may be delays in cargo processing.
  • Since all ports will be operating with reduced resources, there is no point to planning for conveyance diversions.
  • CBP will coordinate with other US government agencies to assess whether their cuts will impact trade. At this point, CBP has determined that the sequestration plans of the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) may not have a significant impact on port-level transactions.

The CBP’s advice for importers:  Now more than ever, pre-filing entry data can help speed cargo on its way.

In general, CBP will redirect all available resources to the most critical core functions, curtailing its personnel’s travel, training and speaking engagements.

See the full CBP advisory here.

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