CBP Finishes Internal Work on EEM Mandate, Official Says
CBP has completed work on its upcoming mandated electronic export manifest for ocean, air and rail (see 2205060015), and is inching closer to issuing a public rulemaking, said Thomas Overacker, CBP’s executive director of cargo and conveyance security, speaking July 18 during CBP’s Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit. He said the agency also is “finalizing internal work” on mandated EEM for truck. “So watch for that,” he said. “In the coming year, we'll have more to announce.”
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The agency currently has EEM pilots running for ocean, air and rail, Overacker said, which has helped the agency more efficiently collect important data. He also said the U.S. is working with Canada and Mexico to better harmonize trade data, especially for U.S. exports, so “that we can achieve efficiencies and reduce redundancies for transmitting data.”
The agency’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program also shares export information with Canada and Mexico, although it only has a “harmonization effort” with Canada, said Manuel Garza, the agency’s CTPAT director. The agency may consider extending that effort to also include Mexico, he said.
“There definitely could be something in the works,” Garza said. “We do have, not necessarily a data plan to share all of our data right now, but we are working on a blockchain solution for exchange of [beneficial] information for our partners. But that's something that's still in the process and not till mid-next year.”
CBP is also looking to better capture exports in CTPAT, Garza said. Garza said he recently made recommendations to his budget office “regarding exports and how we can coordinate better with our field offices for exports,” especially as they “begin to do a lot more in the export world.” He added that virtual validations are still available for exporters under CTPAT.
Officials also said the agency is looking into new technologies to more efficiently help clear congestion at U.S. ports, including the severe backlogs in Southern California. Brian Sale, CBP’s branch chief of vessel operations, specifically pointed to the agency’s centralized examination stations, which convene cargo in one place for inspections.
With a CES, “we don't have to drive around for days to different warehouses to release that cargo because it's coming to a central examination station. That's what helps move cargo quicker,” Sale said. “I think that is how we see CBP relieve some of the congestion in the different ports.”
Overacker also pointed to advanced electronic data, automated systems and other technology tools CBP uses “to make a release decision instantaneously.” But he also said most of the port congestion is outside the agency’s control.
“I hope that everyone recognizes, especially since we're here in Southern California, that much of the supply chain disruptions that we've seen are disruptions that are outside of the scope of CBP,” Overacker said, adding that they are a “byproduct” of increased imports and little change to the country’s existing infrastructure. “All of these things are part of the overall supply chain that go beyond the scope of CBP, but CBP will do everything it can to make its processes more efficient.”