US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a plan to unify the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (“C-TPAT”) and Importer Self-Assessment (“ISA”) programs under a new test program called the “Trusted Trader Program.”
The goal of the Trusted Trader Program is to strengthen security, identify low risk trade entities, and increase overall efficiency of trade by segmenting risk and processing by account. The combined security and compliance model aligns the US with the internationally recognized Authorized Economic Operator (“AEO”) program.
The program is limited to 10 participants and will run for 18 months in collaboration with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). The new program will provide new benefits that do not exist today under the current C-TPAT and ISA programs, including a penalty offset upon request; exemption from random Non-Intrusive Inspections (NIIs); fewer product safety tests and reduced testing targeting/examination scores with FDA.