Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) Program and CTPAT Trade Compliance Program, 9371-9373 [2022-03503]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9371-9373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03503]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

[1651-0077]


Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) Program and 
CTPAT Trade Compliance Program

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of 
Homeland Security.

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments; revision of an existing 
collection of information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection will be submitting the following information collection 
request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). 
The information collection is published in the Federal Register to 
obtain comments from the public and affected agencies.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and must be submitted (no later than 
April 19, 2022 to be assured of consideration.

[[Page 9372]]


ADDRESSES: Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) 
contained in this notice must include the OMB Control Number 1651-0077 
in the subject line and the agency name. Please use the following 
method to submit comments:
    Email. Submit comments to: [email protected].
    Due to COVID-19-related restrictions, CBP has temporarily suspended 
its ability to receive public comments by mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional PRA 
information should be directed to Seth Renkema, Chief, Economic Impact 
Analysis Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade, 
Regulations and Rulings, 90 K Street NE, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 
20229-1177, Telephone number 202-325-0056 or via email 
[email protected]. Please note that the contact information provided 
here is solely for questions regarding this notice. Individuals seeking 
information about other CBP programs should contact the CBP National 
Customer Service Center at 877-227-5511, (TTY) 1-800-877-8339, or CBP 
website at https://www.cbp.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CBP invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on the proposed and/or continuing 
information collections pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). This process is conducted in accordance with 
5 CFR 1320.8. Written comments and suggestions from the public and 
affected agencies should address one or more of the following four 
points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (3) suggestions to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (4) suggestions to minimize the 
burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, 
including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of 
responses. The comments that are submitted will be summarized and 
included in the request for approval. All comments will become a matter 
of public record.

Overview of This Information Collection

    Title: Customs Trade Partnership against Terrorism (CTPAT) Program 
and CTPAT Trade Compliance.
    OMB Number: 1651-0077.
    Current Actions: Revision.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Abstract: The CTPAT Program compromises of two different program 
divisions, CTPAT Security and CTPAT Trade Compliance. The CTPAT 
Security program is designed to safeguard the world's trade industry 
from terrorists and smugglers by prescreening its participants. The 
CTPAT Program applies to United States and non-resident Canadian 
importers, United States exporters, customs brokers, consolidators, 
ports and terminal operators, carriers of cargo in air, sea and land, 
and Canadian and Mexican manufacturers. The Trade Compliance division 
is for importers only.
    The CTPAT Program application requests an applicant's contact and 
business information, including the number of company employees, the 
number of years in business, and a list of company officers. This 
collection of information is authorized by the SAFE Port Act (Pub. L. 
109-347). Additional information is being collected based on CTPAT's 
new vetting process as the prior vetting process was found to be 
insufficient in being able to identify violators. Not collecting this 
information would result in companies that are high risk for committing 
illegal activity to be allowed into, and continue to be part of, the 
CTPAT program. When the previous vetting process was reviewed by CBP's 
National Targeting Center, they found the vetting process to be 
ineffective in capturing high risk companies. This means companies that 
are high risk were allowed to be CTPAT members and enjoy the many trade 
facilitation benefits of membership, such as having their cargo 
facilitated through CBP ports of entry via FAST lanes and front of the 
line treatment, fewer inspections by CBP, and various other benefits. 
Those companies vetted under the CTPAT program's current ``standard'' 
vetting process have/had to provide only the company points of contact 
(POC), telephone number and name. As the required information is not 
sufficient to gather specific data on a specific person to get an exact 
match, CBP is adding the following data elements to assist with vetting 
CTPAT members:

[ssquf] Date of Birth (DOB)
[ssquf] Country of Birth
[ssquf] Country of Citizenship
[ssquf] Travel Document number (e.g., visa or passport number)
[ssquf] Immigration status information (e.g., Alien Registration 
Number, Naturalization number)
[ssquf] Driver's license information (e.g., state and country of 
issuance, number, date of issuance/expiration)
[ssquf] Social Security Number (The Social Security Number is a means 
to verify the identity of an owner/upper manager within the company. 
This is particularly helpful with common names or the Spanish names 
where individuals may have multiple last names that may or may not be 
used in records. In these instances, we may need to go beyond the name 
and DOB to ensure we are looking at the right individual and making the 
correct vetting decision for the company.
[ssquf] Trusted Traveler membership type and number (e.g., FAST/NEXUS/
SENTRI/Global Entry ID); and
[ssquf] Registro Federal de Contribuventes (RFC) Persona Fisica (needed 
for Mexican Foreign Manufacturers, Highway Carriers, and Long-Haul 
Carriers Only).
[ssquf] internet Protocol (IP) Address
[ssquf] An IP address serves two main functions: Host or network 
interface identification and location addressing. Usually, the IP 
address is enough to trace the connection back to the ISP (internet 
Service Provider). In some instances of Post Incident Analysis, 
conducted after a company in the program has been involved in an 
incident, HSI has asked CTPAT if we have IP addresses for users in our 
system, but we have been unable to provide them. Having the IP address 
captured could help to assist CBP/HSI in identifying users/locations, 
as needed, for law enforcement purposes. There are also instances where 
users (often consultants) will try to sign the CTPAT user agreement or 
submit security profiles on behalf of companies, which they are not 
allowed to do. This leaves the company liable to the actions taken by 
someone not authorized to take those actions. If we are able to capture 
the IP address, CTPAT might be able to identify cases where consultants 
are using unauthorized logins or logging in using Company Officer 
accounts in order to make it appear that submissions are coming from a 
Company Officer.

    The CTPAT Trade Compliance program is an optional component of the 
CTPAT program and adds trade compliance aspects to the supply chain 
security aspects of the CTPAT program. The CTPAT security program is a

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prerequisite to applying to the CTPAT Trade Compliance program. CTPAT 
members are given the opportunity to receive additional benefits in 
exchange for a commitment to assume responsibility for monitoring their 
own compliance by applying to the CTPAT Trade Compliance program. After 
a company has completed the security aspects of the CTPAT program and 
is in good standing, it may opt to apply to the CTPAT Trade Compliance 
component. The CTPAT Trade Compliance program strengthens security by 
leveraging the CTPAT supply chain requirements, identifying low-risk 
trade entities for supply chain security, and increasing the overall 
efficiency of trade by segmenting risk and processing by account.
    The CTPAT Trade Compliance program is open to U.S. and non-resident 
Canadian importers that have satisfied both the CTPAT supply chain 
security and trade compliance requirements.
    The CTPAT Trade Compliance program application includes questions 
about the following:

 Primary Point of Contact including name, title, email address, 
and phone number
 Business information including Company Name, Company Address, 
Company phone number, Company website, Company type (private or 
public), CBP Bond information, Importer of Record Number, and number of 
employees
 Information about the applicant's Supply Chain Security 
Profile
 Trade Compliance Profile and Internal Control Operating 
Procedures of the applicant
 Company Broker information
 Training material for Supply Chain Security and Trade 
Compliance
 Risk Assessment documentation and results
 Period testing documentation and results
 Prior disclosure history
 Partner Government Agency affiliation information

    After an importer obtains CTPAT Trade Compliance membership, the 
importer will be required to submit an Annual Notification Letter to 
CBP confirming that they are continuing to meet the requirements of the 
program. This letter should include: Personnel changes that impact the 
CTPAT Trade Compliance Program; organizational and procedural changes; 
a summary of risk assessment and self-testing results; a summary of 
post-entry amendments and/or disclosures made to CBP; and any importer 
activity changes within the last 12-month period.

    Type of Information Collection: CTPAT Application.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 750.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Number of Total Annual Responses: 750.
    Estimated Time per Response: 20 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,000.

    Type of Information Collection: CTPAT Trade Compliance Application.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Number of Total Annual Responses: 50.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 100.

    Type of Information Collection: CTPAT Trade Compliance Program's 
Annual Notification Letter.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 50.
    Estimated Number of Annual Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Number of Total Annual Responses: 50.
    Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 100.

    Dated: February 14, 2022.
Seth D. Renkema,
Branch Chief, Economic Impact Analysis Branch, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection.
[FR Doc. 2022-03503 Filed 2-17-22; 8:45 am]
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