CBP Releases Eligibility Requirements And Security Criteria For Its C-TPAT Exporter Program

On July 9, 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released the eligibility requirements and security criteria for its expanded Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. CBP is expanding C-TPAT to exporters as part of its effort to create an authorized economic operator-type program similar to those maintained by customs authorities of some of our largest trading partners, including Europe and Japan.

CBP initially presented a draft of the criteria to the Trusted Trader Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of CBP (COAC) in September 2013. The subcommittee responded to the draft with more than 125 substantive comments and observations. CBP incorporated nearly all of those comments into a final document that the subcommittee has agreed to support. During its May 22, 2014 meeting, COAC recommended CBP release the eligibility requirements and security criteria within 60 days, and CBP has just met that deadline.

On its website, CBP explains that entities that wish to participate in the C-TPAT Exporter program must meet the program's definition of an "exporter" and other eligibility requirements. CBP defines an exporter as a "person or company who, as the principal party in interest in the export transaction, has the power and responsibility for determining and controlling the sending of the items out of the United States." It is important to note that this is the definition of "exporter" from the Export Administration Regulations and is not the U.S. Principal Party in Interest (USPPI) as defined in the Foreign Trade Regulations, which may impact businesses that use routed export structures or otherwise structure their transactions to avoid acting as USPPI. This includes those that buy from U.S. based businesses but then require their supplier to drop ship and export the goods as well as requiring the supplier to act as USPPI.

In addition to meeting this definition of exporter, an entity must also:

Be an active U.S. exporter out of the United States; Have a business office staffed in the United States; Have a documentable Employee Identification Number (EIN) or Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) number; Have a documented export security program and a designated officer or manager who will act as the C-TPAT program main point of contact (with an alternate point of contact should the designated person be unavailable); Commit to maintaining the C-TPAT supply chain security criteria as outlined in the C-TPAT...

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