LOS ANGELES - A U.S. Customs official said that the government is entering the "penalty phase" as part of its enforcement of the advance manifest filing rule.
The anti-terror measure requires that shipping lines and freight consolidators electronically file a complete description of U.S.-bound shipments at least 24 hours before the cargo is loaded on a vessel in a foreign port. The rule, along with other measures adopted since the September 11 attacks, are designed to prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons of mass destruction into the U.S.
Customs implemented the so-called 24-hour rule last fall and after a transition period began enforcing it on Feb. 2. The agency this spring has been issuing "no load" orders for shipments in foreign ports that are not accompanied by proper cargo classifications or shipper-consignee descriptions.
The rule also gives the government the authority to hit shippers with monetary penalties for failure to provide 15 key data elements on U.S.-bound cargo. "We are now entering the penalty phase," John Heinrich, interim director of field operations for Southern California, on Monday told a security conference sponsored by the National Industrial Transportation League.
As it has done from the beginning of its enforcement effort, Customs will take a "reasoned and measured approach" in dealing with offenders. "We will go after the egregious offenses. There are some people who just don't get it," Heinrich said.Shippers are required to provide ocean carriers with an accurate and complete description of cargo in enough time for the lines to file the information to Customs through the automated manifest system. Cargo consolidators, also known as non-vessel operating common carriers, are bound by the same requirement if they file their manifests directly to Customs.
Customs uses the advance manifest information to perform a risk analysis of shipments and prevent suspicious containers from being loaded on to vessels at foreign ports. This is part of its efforts to push the nation's borders back to foreign ports, and even to factories in other countries, to prevent weapons of mass destruction from being shipped in U.S.-bound containers.
Initially, the government focused on cargo descriptions. Shippers were no longer allowed to give vague descriptions such as "freight all kinds." A shipment of men's shirts has to be precisely classified. They can not be described as "wearing apparel."
It took an educational effort by Customs, but before long cargo descriptions were for the most part accurate, Heinrich said. Getting the trade to file the manifest information on time required a major effort by the government. "The timeliness out of Asia was horrendous," he said. Now Customs is working with the trade to supply accurate information on shippers and consignees.
The government has not yet issued financial penalties, but it has collected extensive data on shippers that have repeatedly failed fail to comply with the new rule. Customs has also engaged in extensive outreach with the trade community. "If you get a penalty, you will be hard-pressed to prove you don't deserve it," Heinrich said.