CBP to Add More Participants to E-Commerce Shipment Monitoring Pilot Effort

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is looking for participants for a pilot program focused on determining the potential benefits of requiring advance data and additional information on e-commerce shipments, FCW reported Wednesday.

Participants will collect and send data such as x-ray images to CBP ahead of the cargo’s arrival to the U.S. to help the agency “identify and target high-risk shipments in the e-commerce environment,” according to the original Federal Register notice.

The pilot began on Aug. 22 and is slated to run through August 2021. CBP noted in a separate Federal Register notice that it extended the program’s deadline by a year in order to provide enough time for participants to modify their communication platforms and the agency to collect sufficient data.

Currently, CBP requires carriers to submit data such as shipper identification, consignee identification, cargo description and other travel-related information.

CBP intends to use data from various third-party entities under the program and enlist participants on an ongoing basis. Current participants include Amazon, FedEx, DHL, eBay and UPS.