NAM takes credit for 10+2 modifications

The National Association of Manufacturers applauded several changes in 10+2 interim final rule released Monday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

   The agency tweaked parts of the original proposal earlier this year to allow importers flexibility in filing some of the data elements required for security purposes. Importers or their agents are required to file 10 types of information about their foreign suppliers and shipments 24-hours prior to vessel lading overseas. Ocean carriers must also electronically submit two types of information about the containers carried onboard.

   The '10+2' rule, as originally drafted, would have cost U.S. manufacturers as much as $20 billion annually, created huge delays and missed shipments in the global supply chain, risked shutting down U.S. production lines and actually worsened security by increasing the amount of time containers sat around available for tampering at foreign ports, said NAM President John Engler.

   The rule establishes an interim six-month test of how the data elements can be provided, and allows U.S. manufacturers to provide the most difficult data elements on a rest available status.

   We are very pleased that, after nearly a year of the NAM's unrelenting effort, a realistic assessment of the rule was made under the auspices of the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Engler said. Congress and the departments of Commerce, State, Treasury, and Homeland Security, the Small Business Administration and the U.S. Trade Representative listened carefully to what our member companies told them. NAM fought for a pilot program to test the data transmission process in a graduated approach.

   While the rule is substantially changed, work still has to be done to create a final rule that works for both national security and U.S. manufacturers,?Engler said. Even though the modifications alleviate onerous burdens, some serious problems still have not been corrected in the interim rule.

   We look forward to building upon the cooperative environment established between the government and industry to keep America safe as we continue our work on 10+2, he said.

Source: American Shipper