Seatrade-Maritime: US customs seeks ‘heightened’ import data from ocean carriers

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is launching a broad effort to modernise trade data collection and close enforcement gaps across international supply chains with potential updated regulations.

An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) published by CBP on Tuesday titled “Heightened Import Disclosures for Supply Chain Visibility”, directly supports an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump in June instructing the Department of Homeland Security to tighten customs oversight to prevent bad actors from exploiting outdated reporting mandates.

“CBP seeks to more effectively detect and interdict illicit importations, especially those that are illegally transshipped to evade compliance with U.S. customs and trade laws,” the ANPRM states.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott asserted that, by strengthening visibility into the supply chains behind US imports, “CBP can better identify high-risk shipments, stop illicit trade, and ensure that American businesses are not undercut by those who evade our customs laws.”

Responses from ocean carriers – as well as from importers, customs brokers, and freight forwarders – to a list of 64 questions among a group of proposals aimed at bolstering supply chain visibility will be used, potentially, to draft a formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The rulemaking would in turn propose regulations to implement those proposals or others suggested in response to the notice.

Key proposals for which CBP is requesting feedback include:

Party Identification and Business Identifiers: Standardising and upgrading business identification data to better track raw material suppliers, foreign manufacturers, and intermediate logistics nodes.

Foreign Export Documentation: Potential requirements for trade participants to collect, retain, or submit foreign export documentation as part of the US import record.

Tracing Technologies: Leveraging digital tracing and data-interoperability technology to track goods from origin to destination.

For ocean container shipping lines and non-vessel operating common carriers, overhauling customs data requirements could have operational impact, including the need to push back documentation deadlines at foreign loading ports.

Enhanced automated screening could also increase holding of cargo, targeted inspections, and detention at US marine terminals for shipments with incomplete supply chain information, heightening demurrage risks for cargo owners and carriers.

CBP’s Executive Assistant Commissioner Diane Sabatino emphasized, however, that by modernising how trade data is collected, “we are sharpening our ability to target high-risk shipments and interdict illicit goods – such as counterfeit items and dangerous substances –before they enter the country.”