HB 3551 C TPAT Reauthorization Act of 2017

About HB-3551

C-TPAT Reauthorization Act of 2017 This bill amends the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 to reauthorize within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. The CBP shall publish on its website or other online publication:

• (1) information about benefits to program participants, and
• (2) notice of any changes to benefits to participants by 30 days before any such changes take effect

The bill specifies that:

• (1) applicants may be eligible to participate as Tier 1 or Tier 2 participants,
• (2) importers may be eligible to participate as Tier 3 participants, and
• (3) the Executive Assistant Commissioner may extend Tier 3 participation to other entity types if appropriate

To be eligible, an entity shall:

• (1) have a designated company employee authorized to bind such entity that is a direct company employee and will serve as the primary point of contact responsible for participation; and
• (2) at the time of initial application and annually thereafter, submit an international supply chain security profile

The CBP must establish minimum security criteria for participants in the program, review such minimum security criteria at least once every two years, and update such minimum security criteria as necessary. The CBP may recognize regulatory inspections conducted by other components of the Department of Homeland Security of entities as sufficient to constitute validation for C-TPAT program participation. It shall:

• (1) implement a recertification process for all C-TPAT program participants,
• (2) consider the potential for participation in the C-TPAT program by importers of non-containerized cargoes and non-asset-based third party logistics providers, and
• (3) establish sufficient internal quality controls and record management to support the management systems of the C-TPAT program.