CBP Under 'Internal Pressure' to Move Faster on EEM, Official Says
RANCHO MIRAGE, California -- CBP is being pushed to move faster on its electronic export manifest after delays have pushed back its full release to at least next year, said Jim Swanson, director of the agency’s Cargo and Security Controls Division. He pointed to a “variety of reasons” CBP hasn’t yet been able to mandate the use of EEM, including “limited participation” in the pilot program. “I can tell you right now I have a lot of internal pressure from various parts of the government asking us why don't we have this up and running,” Swanson said Oct. 15 during the Western Cargo Conference.
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The agency has been drafting an announcement to mandate the use of EEM since at least July (see 2107220036), but that announcement won’t be ready before the current pilot program expires (see 2109220045). CBP is planning to extend the pilot for at least another two years while it works on mandating the electronic export filing, Swanson said. He "hopes" CBP can mandate it next year.
“We've begun the process of writing the regulations,” Swanson said, which will require export filings for ocean, air and rail. “What we'd like to do is get to a point where the data elements are similar enough where the export manifest and import manifests have a better alignment.” He added that CBP still has to show “there's value” gained from requiring EEM, not just from an “enforcement perspective” but from an industry and economic perspective. “I think we’re going to need to do that in order to get funding,” Swanson said. “There's going to be time [commitments], there's going to be writing regulations. All these agencies are going to need to prove that and justify the actions they're taking.”