As the Sequester appears more certain, senior CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) officials held a conference call on Friday, 22 February to share their strategy to deal with the mandated cuts in CBP funding.
Although the strategy lacked specifics, a number of contingencies emerged from the call:
- Cuts in overtime will commence immediately
- Employees will be furloughed between 12 and 14 days after the required 30 days’ notice.
- CBP will maintain a focus on security as well as core cargo and passenger operations.
- Agriculture exams will continue
- IPR, Dumping and Countervailing Duty enforcement will diminish
- Training and Travel will be restricted
- Administrative Initiatives, including Centers of Excellence and ACE will be delayed or put on hold
The collateral effects of the strategy include:
- Cargo release Wait Times at border entry points will double from the current 2 hours to approximately 4-5 hours.
- Cargo Exams will take in excess of 5 business days to complete
- CBP will exercise a risk-based approach to mitigate cargo and passenger delay, relying onC-TPAT and trusted/frequent trader and traveler programs
Clients are advised to plan accordingly. MIQ Logistics will continue to closely monitor the individual Ports of Entry to determine how the respective Port Directors plan to implement the mandated budget cuts.
If you have any questions, please contact your MIQ Logistics representative.