Ann Beauchesne: Okay, well good morning, everybody.
Welcome. I'm Ann Beauchesne.
I'm the Senior Vice-President for National Security
and Emergency Preparedness here at the U.S. Chamber.
We're so glad that you could join us here today,
and the U.S. Chamber is very pleased to welcome back our friend and partner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske
for his first State of the Agency address focused on trade.
As the Commissioner begins his second year at CBP
we thought that this was a perfect time to address the trade community
and give them an overview of what's coming up.
The Chamber supports the dual mission of CBP, protecting
national security objectives while promoting economic prosperity.
We see ourselves as a partner in their mission.
Businesses are linked together through a global web of interconnected,
predictable and efficient supply chains.
U.S. businesses rely on those supply chains to access international consumers
as well as compete in the global marketplace.
Improvements that address cross border frictions smooth the flow of trade
and enhance the competitiveness of all of our companies.
We at the Chamber will continue to advance priorities
that improve the performance of global supply chains.
This advocacy will include policy and regulatory reform,
pursuing effective legislation on the hill,
promoting commercially meaningful commitments
from our trade partners to advance global customs modernization.
As the hill moves forward with trade permission authority we must not forget
about the bipartisan Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act
or customs modernization.
As you know this legislation takes aggressive action
to address checkpoints at our borders,
lower the transaction costs of trade
and provide needed resources for trade facilitation,
customs modernization and the enforcement of our intellectual property rights.
As the executive order on trade facilitation enters its second year,
the Chamber will continue to engage DHS in the interagency
to ensure the delivery of a commercially meaningful single window
that meets the White House's 2016 deadline.
And finally as the trade facilitation agreement advances,
the Chamber is committed to a public/private partnership that
ensures accountability for commercially meaningful implementation.
We look forward to working with CBP to modernize customs procedures and streamline
the passage of goods by cutting red tape and bureaucracy at our global borders.
With that said we know we have a great partnership with
Commissioner Kerlikowske and his team.
We look forward to working together to advance our shared priorities
on modernizing the border processes for 21st century trade.
It is now truly my pleasure to introduce Commissioner Kerlikowske.
Gil Kerlikowske was nominated by President Obama and sworn in in March 7, 2014,
as Commissioner, taking the helm of the 60,000 employee agency
with a budget of 12.4 billion dollars.
As Commissioner he leads the largest federal law enforcement agency
and second largest revenue collecting source in the federal government.
The Commissioner brings nearly four decades of law enforcement
and drug policy experience to the office of the Commissioner.
Previously he served in such distinguished positions
as Director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy,
Chief of Police in Seattle, Washington,
Police Commissioner in Buffalo, New York,
and the majority of his law enforcement career
was spent with the St. Petersburg Police Department.
He has received numerous awards and recognition for his leadership,
innovation and community service.
Gil, thank you for your lifetime of service to our great country.
Please give a warm welcome to Commissioner Kerlikowske.
Gil Kerlikowske: Well, good morning, everybody.
Thank you so much for being here, and Ann,
thank you very much for the very warm welcome.
It's always a pleasure to come to the Chamber.
It's always a great honor.
The Chamber and all of its staff have been great partners with CBP
and actually on the drug-free workplace
when I served as the president's drug policy advisor so thank you very much.
And I really appreciate the opportunity to be with all of you today.
Many of you over the last year
since I've had this job and actually during my confirmation process,
I had the opportunity to get to know you,
get to understand a lot of these issues and talk about them quite a bit.
And I'd also like to thank the people that are attending via the webinar.
So I'm sure there are people in Florida that have nice tans
that are busy watching this, watching this also.
The Chamber is absolutely vital to our nation's economic health,
and as champions of American business you help;
the Chamber helps our industries compete and lead on the global playing field.
And I believe that another player in this
is the United States Customs and Border Protection.
We play a critical role in the effort.
And the success of our mission, ensuring border security
while facilitating lawful trade and travel,
is integral to America's global competitiveness.
On a typical day, and many of you already know these statistics
but I wouldn't be a good fed if I didn't repeat some of them to you.
On a typical day CBP processes more than a million people,
screens more than 70,000 truck, rail and sea cargo containers
at our 328 ports of entry,
processing 4.4 billion dollars in exports, 6.8 billion dollars in imports.
Trade and travel facilitation are balanced with
a strong commitment to a seamless border security,
and it makes our mission difficult but it also means that we have to have
good collaboration, good communication and good partners.
And that certainly includes every one of you that are here today.
Well, last May when I had a chance to speak here at the Chamber
I barely had two months in office
and so some people were wondering, How does someone with a law enforcement,
strong law enforcement background for many, many years;
how are you going to adapt to this trade and this travel issue?
How are you gonna make sure that you're paying attention to the
economic security along with the border security?
And how are you gonna navigate the incredible complexities of trade?
After all, issues like supply chain security and cargo pre-inspection,
mutual recognition arrangements, they all have their own special language.
And in CBP I think we have the most acronyms.
I think we're competing with the Department of Defense for the most acronyms.
It's a different world and some might say that it can be for me particularly
it was a bit more opaque than the law enforcement lingo of narcotics
and smuggling and some of the crime issues that CBP deals with.
But in my first year as Commissioner I've seen firsthand,
and I've traveled all over the United States and frankly all over the world.
I've gotten to see firsthand how integral our mission
is to the nation's economic health and vitality and the safety
and security of that global supply chain.
In 2014 we cleared 2.5 trillion dollars in imports,
1.6 trillion dollars in exports.
We processed 26 million cargo containers, and that was an increase of 4% over 2013.
And as everyone in this room and everyone watching clearly knows,
those increases not only in trade but those increases in travel
are something that we're certainly seeing in this fiscal year also.
Well, seeing that firsthand and that volume at the ports
provided a greater understanding of the complexity of the trade process
and how they can present some real significant challenges for you,
for those of you that are in global business.
We enforce laws for 50 federal agencies.
We have equities in, they all have equities in the trade process,
hundreds of different types of forms,
many more acronyms that are required to import and export goods.
The system is and can be time consuming and it can be costly.
And that's not only for government but for all of you as well.
That's why CBP has really focused on streamlining and modernizing our process.
We're really indebted to people that have worked
and been longtime colleagues such as Algena at CBP
and for the work that they did, and then to see them transform
or to go over to work in the private sector
is only of great benefit to both parties.
CBP has to meet this international trade that is predicted,
this growth in trade that's predicted in the next few years.
I want to share with you some of the progress we've made
and I want to talk with you about some of the things
that we've charted for the future.
So first of all was filling a number of key positions.
Over the course of since Secretary Johnson has been in office not quite two years
it was very clear to him that there were far too many acting positions
in the Department of Homeland Security.
And he made a real effort and has been incredibly successful
at getting people confirmed through the United States Senate.
But that's also been true for CBP.
Prior to my confirmation we had a number of acting positions including
acting positions within as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection.
Those people did an outstanding job.
I really stand on their shoulders
whether it's an Alan Bersin or a Tom Winkowski or a David Aguilar or others.
They did an incredible job.
But as all of us know in this room and in the politics of inside the Beltway,
it's helpful to have the [inaudible 10:23]
or the good housekeeping seal of the United States Senate.
So being the first confirmed Commissioner in the Obama administration
I think is helpful,
but it also gave me the opportunity
to remove a number of acting titles away from people.
So many of you had a chance to participate and congratulate Kevin McAleenan
as no longer the acting Deputy Commissioner but the Deputy Commissioner.
I was incredibly proud to appoint Brenda Smith
as the Assistant Commissioner for International Trade
and Sandra Bell as the Deputy
and Todd Owen coming from the Port of Los Angeles
as the Assistant Commissioner for Field Operations
and a strong partner with John Wagner as the Deputy,
and then Rich Denucci with many, many, many years of experience in this field
as the Executive Director of Cargo and Conveyance Security.
All of these individuals are true experts
and they're innovators in the trade mission,
and they are a tremendous asset not only to CBP and DHS.
They're a tremendous asset to the nation's economy and all of you;
Maria Louisa Boyce who heads our Office of Trade Relations
and is also our trade ombudsman,
and the additional staff that I put in place in my office right down the hall
to directly connect with me when it comes to issues that are of concern to you.
And they work with me on a daily basis to make sure that I understand and recognize
and live up to the promises that I've made regarding these priorities.
I'm pleased to announce here today though that as
we've made these promotions we also of course create vacancies with that.
And there is no single area that is more important than making sure that
we deliver it on time and that it operates well, and that's in the ACE program.
Steve Hilson is the CBP Lead Executive for the Single Window initiative,
and I hope you can all give Steve a little round of applause for taking this on.
Steve is going to coordinate all of the activities
within CBP in that role with the Single Window.
He is the primary point of contact for CBP participation
in all of our U.S. government activities relating to the Single Window
and that includes his work with the Border Interagency Executive Council,
the International Trade Data System Board, community stakeholders.
We should be paying you more money obviously.
I could go on, but actually there's a lot.
Well, speaking of the Single Window as part of CBP's trade transformation strategy,
we've really accelerated the deployment of our import/export processing system,
the Automated Commercial Environment, ACE.
You recognize; you clearly recognize what a huge shift this is moving from
these paper based and fax and original signatures
and a number of questions that perhaps in this day and age
aren't as necessary to be asked,
but because we had always done it that way we always continued to do it that way.
We've moved to a faster modernized, more cost effective electronic submissions.
As we close in on key milestones,
and I could never give a speech without making sure that
I give those key milestones,
on May 1 and November 1 of this year and October 2016,
all key dates that you're well aware of.
CPB continues to develop tests and deploy the capabilities
that are all designed to transform cargo processing.
Many of you know ACE is the core of the executive order
that was signed by President Obama in 2013.
So that December 2016 deadline for completion of the government-wide
automated Single Window would streamline government.
CBP and DHS are spearheading this effort, and ACE is the Single Window.
It's going to allow relevant federal agencies to review
and respond to cargo movement, reduce costs and speed the cargo process.
And we're working closely with all of our federal partners including the EPA,
the Food Safety and Inspection Service,
many others to ensure that ACE is equipped to meet their requirements
because we have to be a good steward.
We have to be a good partner with them.
And that Single Window is completed to serve your needs
and to simplify international business.
Well, an area that I'm really excited about is the eBond area.
Our CFO Jay Williamson is here
and the people that were involved in this eBond transformation.
It's pretty exciting.
So eBond processing in ACE, one of the most important modernization efforts in ACE;
eBond is a tremendous benefit to both CBP and to the filers,
customs brokers, self-filing importers, et cetera.
When filers electronically transmit a bond to CBP
they get a positive response within 10 to 15 seconds;
before it was four to five days.
So you can begin to understand the magnitude of this change
and its effect on the supply chain.
Industry has recognized this benefit
and in the first month of eBonds more than 11,000 bonds were created in ACE.
Today more than 90% of the CBP bond market is being submitted electronically.
That's really exciting news.
It's good for us and it's good for business.
Another key development are our centers of excellence and expertise.
And the centers are transforming the way we operate
by consolidating the industry's processing under the authority of one center.
So instead of scattering it throughout hundreds of ports of entry
and perhaps importers getting different answers at different ports of entry,
these centers benefit everyone.
They improve our ability to identify high risk cargo and importations.
They increase the consistency and predictability for the industry.
And if I've heard one set of watchwords over and over from you all
for quite some time, it's about the importance of consistency and predictability.
You're making your business decisions, your budgets, your hiring, on and on and on,
and you want to make sure that we're going to be in the same position,
talking with the same set of talking points,
and moving in the same direction so that as you make these investments
that we're living up to our potential too.
And they reduce transactional costs for trade in CBP.
We have three of CBP's ten centers as of January 28
are managing all post release activities in their specific areas;
electronics in Los Angeles, pharmaceuticals in New York,
petroleum/natural gas and minerals in Houston.
And we look forward to having the other seven virtual centers
being able to live up to that full functionality as well.
Trusted Trader, we're all familiar with Trusted Trader programs
and they've been a key focus of ours for some time.
And we're unifying our customs trade partnership
against terrorism and the importer self-assessment.
I've heard repeatedly also from people in this room and people that are watching
that it's important for us to make sure that if someone goes
and an organization goes to the extra effort and the time to be thoroughly vetted
to become a member of CTPAT that they're actually experiencing those benefits.
We needed to and are working hard to do a better job
of making sure that those benefits are 1, transparent,
and that they're easily accessible
and understood by the people that have gone to that extra trouble.
So whether it's being first in line, whether it's not having cargo held up as long,
because you've gone through those things to make sure
that we understand the obligations that we have,
because you've gone to that extra effort and we appreciate that.
The Trusted Trader program also aligns the Authorized Economic Operator programs,
those worldwide programs that are being implemented by other countries,
and frankly they're being implemented by those other countries
with our help and our assistance.
Our over 800 people overseas and the work that we're doing overseas
is not just about protecting the United States.
It's also about making sure that by pushing those borders out,
giving people the information and the help, and letting them experience 1,
the successes that we've had in implementing these programs,
but also 2, making sure that they understand that in a very open
and transparent way we can tell them about things
that we've tried or worked on and they haven't been quite as successful.
It saves them time.
It saves mistakes.
And frankly it just adds to that trusted relationship when you're
not only willing to say these are all the great things that we've done at CBP,
and here's what we're able to do to be helpful.
But here are some of the things,
the mistakes that we've made or things that haven't worked out as well.
And we can save them time and we can save them effort.
That's what makes a trusted partner when it comes to these issues.
So we're bringing them together along with us.
And in designing the program we're coordinating with the trade community,
other government agencies to build a program of security and
compliance requirements that's really a value add for them and for us.
Well, cargo security, there are some people here that are just intimately,
intimately familiar with ACAS or the Air Cargo Advanced Screening program.
It shows our collaboration with the private sector
and other law enforcement agencies,
really enhances our enforcement and targeting capabilities.
And of course as many of us know,
ACAS was launched in the wake of a true terrorist threat,
the explosives that were hidden in printer cartridges, printer toner cartridges
and intercepted in express mail shipments from Yemen
that were destined for the United States in 2010.
As the national targeting center, CBP and the Transportation Security, TSA,
jointly target and mitigate air cargo identified as high risk
before it is loaded on a U.S. bound aircraft.
And industry has recognized the value of the program, improving national security
and integrity of the supply chain, and prevents major business disruption.
Last year industry participation in ACAS grew by 15%.There are now 51 participants.
We need to continue to collaborate and work together.
The things that I've described here, Single Window, the centers,
the Trusted Trader, ACAS, underscore our commitment to working with stakeholders
and to modernize how we do business.
COAC is one of the areas that I am most proud of.
As a key platform collaborate for collaboration with industry,
the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee is critical.
It comprises a broad array of private sector representatives,
each bringing an incredible depth of experience and expertise in customs processes,
the global supply chain and other fields that can inform and affect how we operate.
And the parameters for the Single Window for example
were thoroughly vetted and subjected to careful review and validation
both within CBP and the interagencies we like to say
but also within the broader trade community.
COAC is the key to that process.
It is an invaluable asset to CBP.
COAC is an invaluable asset to me.
I want to be able to announce the selection of the new members of COAC
and some of them are here
but Cynthia Allen of DHL Global Forwarding,
Brenda Barnes of the George S. Bush & Company,
Jeita Bray of CAUS, Celeste Catano of KEWILL, Lenny Feldman of Sandler,
Travis & Rosenberg, Lisa Gelsomino of Avalon Risk Management,
Alexandra Latham of COSTCO,
Amy Magnus of A.N. Derringer, Adam Salerno U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
and Madeline Vegal Expediters International,
Michael White International Air Transport Association,
and Michael Young Orient Overseas Container Line.
And they are going to be joined eight reappointed members;
David Beery of Swift Transportation, Scott Boyer of Kraft Foods,
Brendan Freed of Air Forward Association, Susanna Hager of Abbott Laboratories,
Vincent Iacopella of the Janel Group, Elizabeth Merritt Airlines for America,
and Julianne Parks Raytheon Company, and Kevin Pinnell of Microsoft.
What a strong and diverse team, internationally type of business,
everything that you want when you're thinking through these really complex issues.
And the amount of time and the effort that they spend and the fact that
they have such great support from their organizations
and their companies is really unbelievably incredibly helpful to us.
And I look forward to continuing to work with them.
Well, interagency collaboration is important as many of you know too.
We work closely with Treasury
and Tim Scott could not be a better partner with us in these areas.
We work closely with something called that Border Interagency Executive Council,
something that Deputy Secretary Mayorkas takes very seriously
and is involved in on a regular basis.
And it's a true commitment by the interagency at the highest level
to make sure that people are involved in all of these things.
It brings together those senior leaders to examine
and improve import and export processes throughout the United States government.
And we have key leadership roles in the group as it examines
and makes decisions about risks, how we use information and move cargo,
collect revenue, enforce health and safety laws.
All of these discussions are informed by the advice from industry
to improve the supply chain process and to reduce barriers for trade.
And the type of collaboration is critical.
For example during the five years
that I served as President Obama's drug policy advisor
I had a good, strong, wonderful working relationship with the FDA.
That was over the prescription drug and [inaudible 24:31] abuse issues
that some people are familiar with from quite a bit of attention
and publicity that it has gotten.
But we had to have that working relationship with the FDA,
and so working with Dr. Hamburg as the FDA Commissioner,
I continued that on when I got the job here at CBP.
And thanks to that relationship we have
a CBP/FDA working group that is working together with you all
in a way to reduce some of the problems of delayed shipment
and transfer of those programs.
And I thank Dr. Hamburg as she now after six years at the helm of the FDA
for her strong leadership as she retires.
And in our phone call and discussion the other day,
she's made it clear to the staff and the key leadership within FDA
that these relationships and this partnership should continue.
I'm also working very closely with Elliott Kay,
the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
We've met.
We've talked.
We've discussed on how can we be more helpful to CPSC
and in fact how can we help ease some of the burden?
We have a lot of people.
We have a lot of, as we like to say,
we have a lot of boots on the ground when it comes to our ports of entry.
We can be a huge benefit and again value add to these other interagencies.
The more they trust us, the more work we can do with them,
the more knowledge and understanding that we have about what they do,
the better we can be in helping them achieve their legislative priorities and goals
and making sure that they live up to their obligations,
but then of course the more helpful we can be to all of you.
Well, during that first year I met with many of the Chamber members.
It was made abundantly clear that CBP has to continue to be a leader
internationally on global supply chain security standards and enforcement.
In my meetings with the World Customs Organization
at a variety of levels it's been very clear.
In my travels around the world it has been made very clear to me by our partners
throughout this global environment how hopeful and helpful we can be to them.
And I think that's tremendously beneficial.
You're seeing that move where in many places customs
is by far a single focus on revenue collection
and where by far now customs is trying to meet that dual obligation,
the same obligation that we have
and that I think we've dealt with successfully
although we can certainly and will do more.
But I think that those are the kinds of lessons learned
that we're going to bring forward.
We watch; they watch us closely.
The world watches CBP closely, and we're eager to share our experiences
with our foreign counterparts so that we can better align policies.
To that end with the World Customs Organization
and their 178-member nations we play a large role.
They have considerable interest in our initiatives and our policies,
and I have sought every opportunity to engage them
and to make sure that they know that we are more than willing to be as helpful
and to provide as much assistance as possible.
But we need a stronger voice frankly from the United States.
We have that expertise.
We have that credibility.
I couldn't have been more pleased to nominate Ana Hinojosa,
our Deputy Assistant Commissioner for International Affairs,
to be the U.S. delegate to WCO's Director of Compliance and Facilitation.
Ana brings 28 years of experience in CBP.
She worked on the southwest border.
She was a port director.
She can bring all of that to that international body.
And we have not had someone in one of those elected director positions
since Commissioner Bonner was in office as the Commissioner of Customs.
So it's gonna be important and I'm working very hard in trying to
make sure that people will recognize what a value she will be to WCO
and to all of the WCO members.
The security integrity of the global supply chain
depends on those international partnerships.
Mutual recognition arrangements are a critical tool
that align standards to the international community.
These arrangements provide a platform to exchange Trusted Trader information
and to harmonize reciprocal supply chain programs.
During the first year as Commissioner I got to sign four MRA's, Mexico;
three MRA's, sorry, in Mexico, Israel and Singapore.
The secretary just signed the agreement
and I'll take about it in a minute with Canada.
But bringing together these arrangements is important.
We only have ten of these by the way since 2003 so you can see that
we've really tried to speed up that process of getting these in place.
A key focus has been strengthening our relationship and partnership with Mexico in
the 2,000 miles of shared border and the 50 ports of entry we have with them.
Ongoing engagement, building upon the areas identified in the 21st century border
initiative, improving and expanding border infrastructure.
So if you've been to San Ysidro lately, you can see that instead of
the long lines of people waiting to get into the United States
or cargo or produce waiting to get into the United States that San Ysidro
has reduced the time, the wait times to a much smaller amount.
That's because the United States government, taxpayers,
have made an investment in improving that critical infrastructure.
So when we team up with a better facility and we team up with more people
and better technology, we can really speed things through.
And that's what is going on and is highly visible in San Ysidro
and then certainly going on in Nogales also.
So these are the kinds of things and including a new agreement
for the terminal facility in Tijuana airport.
But I knew after going back;
I've been back about four times to San Diego
and the first time the complaints about the wait times were there.
This time the complaints were from the venders selling water
saying people are moving through the line too quick.
So there's always a complaint.
As I mentioned, our two countries signed a mutual recognition arrangement
in October, and this was historic.
Our CTPAT program and Mexico's NECK program, supply chain security programs,
each have this mutually recognizable arrangement so that we can have better trust.
And as we look at designing ports of entry in the future,
particularly with Mexico and Canada, how can this be done in a more efficient way?
Well, the northern border in the United States and Canada
just signed with the Secretary and Minister Blaney
a history new pre-clearance agreement
in accord with that 2011 Beyond the Borders action plan.
That accord covers all modes of transportation
between the U.S. and Canada, land, rail, marine and air.
Immigration, customs, agriculture inspections
required for entry into either country
will be able to be handled on foreign soil on the opposite side of the border.
It'll reduce congestion, delays, and increase efficiency and predictability
in cross border travel, tourism and transportation.
And the next step required is to implement the new agreement.
This is for the United States and Canada to now enact legislation.
Well, that legislation was introduced during the last Congress
and I'm hopeful that it will be introduced
and that you will support its passage in this Congress.
Let me just mention before I close
a little bit about the future and the change that's going to occur.
Change is a lot like heaven.
Kind of everyone wants to get there but no one wants to die.
So we're working hard.
And you know who said that?
I got that statement from Carly Fiorina;
so a pretty interesting statement.
What's clear to me in preparing for the future is that we need to reflect
the realities of your business and the world that you exist in,
the constant evolution of the global supply chain.
I recognize that while we have some major efforts already underway,
there are some areas that need additional focus
and they need more work and they need more work from us.
Trade enforcement, over and over again I've never heard anyone say that,
well, you shouldn't be enforcing or spending as much time on enforcement,
but you should do it in a consistent, predictable way.
And those that are violating our trade laws,
those that are being required of enforcement,
that it only helps the business,
the businesses that are in fact playing by the rules
and that have that level playing field.
So we need to do a better job in that.
I heard from congressional leaders about the importance of enforcement
also and the critical role that we play in protecting our markets.
We've made some strides.
For example CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
we have a new director as many of you know, Sarah Saldana.
And Sarah was the United States Attorney in Dallas
so she clearly understands enforcement and prosecution issues.
So working closely with ICE Homeland Security investigations,
we're trying to do more training for each of our components.
We're trying to understand and work through the processes and the operations
that we can attack smuggling and the growth in shipments of counterfeit goods.
Many of these pose serious health and threats to public safety
and also harm our national and economic security.
And in addition trade penalty assessments have increased
by 140% from 385 million dollars in fiscal year '11
to over 900 million dollars in fiscal year 2014.
But we clearly know that more can be done in that area.
I know there are other aspects of the trade enforcement area
that could really improve from our transparency.
We've gone way out of our way after hearing a number of complaints
because you're our eyes and ears.
You give us the information.
And when you make these complaints or you provide us information
about things that you believe are wrong
and things that we should be following up on,
we haven't been particularly good in making sure that
we're getting back to you about what did we do and how are we handling it.
Sometimes the cases are complex.
They take on a lengthy period of time.
But still we need to make sure that we're doing a better job in that area.
The enforcement and collection of anti-dumping and counter-evading duties,
we're working with industry and Congress
to increase that communication on those enforcement efforts.
And reviewing regulations, we have tons and tons and tons of regulations.
We need to do a better job of reviewing those regulations,
and we need to do a better job of making sure that
you have input into some of those regulations.
And I believe that as many of my leadership team
really talk about that we can improve and streamline the process.
It's a complex discussion.
It's time consuming.
Many of you devote a lot of time to it.
I couldn't be more pleased with the incredible amounts of time
that the COAC members provide on this, but it is invaluable.
We welcome your ideas, and this type of discussion
can make a difference in years to come.
Well, those are some of the efforts I plan on pursuing in the coming year.
Everything I do as the Commissioner over these next several years,
as long as the President keeps me, I think I'm supposed to say;
over the next several years is going to be done
to increase our trade and security mission.
CBP plays that critical role in protecting our national security,
safeguarding the supply chain from terrorism, transnational crime and fraud.
And we carry out, and I've had a change
to meet literally thousands and thousands of CBP employees.
We carry out that mission in a very dedicated way with a professional staff,
and we continue to make sure that we're hiring the very best people.
We have to be an agile and a flexible organization.
Sometimes that bumps up against bureaucracy,
but I think we can work through many of those things and already have.
When the world economic forum said that if you remove supply chain barriers
you can increase the global economy six times more than removing all tariffs,
everyone should pay attention and listen to that.
And we have been listening to that.
I want you to know that I recognize my responsibility to serve all of you
and appreciate the input and the cooperation
and the help and the advice and the assistance that you do.
And we really appreciate having this robust dialogue
with the Chamber and its members.
We want to continue to fulfill our commitment
to operating as a strong law enforcement organization
while helping America's businesses remain competitive in the global marketplace.
Thank you all very much.
Ann Beauchesne: Thank you, Commissioner.
We have a few minutes for questions, and if I could just ask you
to state your name and who you're with to ask your question.
Who would like to start it off?
You did cover a lot of ground there.
Thank you, sir.
Man #1: Well, I thought we had one back here,
but I will just lead off in the questions.
There is a vocal group up here so I know you guys will have one soon,
so, Spencer, get up there.
Commissioner, thank you again for addressing the Chamber,
its members and broader membership from other organizations as well.
We appreciate your partnership as always.
My question is in regards to your international comments.
We obviously see the BOLA agreement moving forward
and the trade facilitation being a big component of that.
That's really focused on removing global borders and customs,
customs barriers at borders.
You mentioned that U.S. Customs can play a big role in the international environment.
How do you see U.S. Customs taking its best practices and exporting those programs
but also improving your processes as well and seeing what you could do
to modernize to rise to the standards of the TFA?
Gil Kerlikowske: I think we're fortunate to have two things going on right now.
One is that with Assistant Secretary Bersin having held the helm of CBP
and now being the Assistant Secretary for International Issues for DHS,
we have a lot of support.
One, Alan clearly recognized the value that CBP can bring to other countries.
And so we're working hard as you look at things and changes in the world.
We're working hard to expand our international footprint
and to put more people there.
In my relations with the Department of State and many of the ambassadors
that I've had an opportunity to work with, every ambassador in a foreign country
that has a member of CBP within that embassy
almost universally tells me how valuable and helpful they are.
They bring a perspective and information to that.
So I am intent on moving forward with expanding our international footprint in CBP.
And right now of course many of you know that we're in negotiation.
We received letters of interest from 25 airports around the world
to expand pre-clearance, the same type of pre-clearance we have
and have had in Canada for a number of years.
So I think that's particularly important.
The other is that; and we haven't done this for a while,
but over the course of the next day and a half or Thursday and Friday
we'll be taking all of the senior leadership within CBP
to our advanced training facility at Harper's Ferry for a day and a half,
perhaps away a little bit from Blackberries and telephones
to spend some time saying how can we better align.
We're all busy.
We all have these silos that we end up operating in.
How can we harmonize within CBP to meet some of the goals that I mentioned here?
Ann Beauchesne: Other questions.
Yes?
Our microphone is coming to you.
Thank you.
Man #2: My name is Clark Dalton.
I'm from a company called [inaudible41:26] provider of biometrics
to your old position actually in Seattle in King County, fingerprint system.
But you alluded in the beginning to the interface
and challenges of balancing commerce and security, of course,
whether it's people or goods moving across the border.
Can you comment briefly on the variable priorities from CBP
on the new entry/exit biometric border control
versus goods and management of goods crossing?
I'm sure everything is a priority.
Gil Kerlikowske: So I think it's particularly critical right now when it comes to
the identification of people and things like fraudulent documents.
There isn't a day that you don't
pick up some news article about Syrian foreign fighters,
whether it's people leaving the United States
and I think the number is certainly less than 200,
but it's people that have either shown an intent or have gone over to Syria,
and then of course because they're U.S. citizens
could return back to the United States.
What danger, what threat do they pose and how are we recognizing that?
It's certainly a much more significant concern in Europe,
the U.K. and other locations.
But the fraudulent document information and stolen passport,
not every country will query passports against Interpol's stolen passport database.
We do.
Others countries do.
But that's important that we show that this is, that this is critical.
When you apply for and ask for the ESTA information to apply to come into
the United States, there are now additional sets of questions.
And some of you have read that we're working with facial recognition systems
in an experiment at Dulles airport, and these are going to continue one.
So the fraudulent document information is gonna be critical.
Biometric exit information and of course as everyone in the room also knows,
our airports really aren't designed for exit,
and they're designed to get people onto the airplanes
but not through certain portals, et cetera.
So we're gonna have to;
we have to think through that pretty clearly.
How can we work with technology given infrastructure constraints
to work in those areas?
So I think that the verification of people is critical.
The agriculture inspections are still gonna be critical
and then the screening and risk-based analysis of cargo.
Ann Beauchesne: Mike Mullen.
Man #3: I'm Mike Mullen from the Express Association of America,
and thank you for those remarks, Commissioner.
I was happy to hear you emphasize the relationship you have
with the other government agencies in the context of the BIC
and the effort to implement the Single ITDS Window.
And I think I can speak for a lot of people in this room
in saying that we feel of all the government agencies CBP has the best grasp,
the sort of deepest understanding of risk management,
and that that's an area where a lot of the other agencies
for a host of cultural and historical reasons have a much different perspective.
So my question is I know this is being discussed in the auspices of the BIC.
How far do you think you can go or how do you see the government
implementing a single approach to risk management that from our point of view
hopefully will look a lot more like CBP's than what some of the other agencies use?
Gil Kerlikowske: I think that the fact that we have such a leadership role
with the Deputy Secretary and the border interagency
and having been the United States Attorney in Los Angeles,
he clearly kind of has that understanding of that balance.
And I think all of us particularly inside the Beltway know that
the usual parochial way is to close our arms, make no comment,
say that we don't make mistakes and things can't happen;
but I kind of go back and take my experience as a police chief for a long time.
No mayor, no city council held me
to a crime-free city of Seattle or a crime-free city of Buffalo.
And yet there are times some elected officials like to hold folks like me
accountable for no one should cross the border.
A secure border is that no one will ever get in.
And if only we'd do more, things will be better.
We need to not do more when it comes to huge expenditures.
We need to do more when it comes to being smart, to being good partners,
to using intelligence, to using technology, when it comes to border security,
trade security or the people coming into the country and doing that.
And I think the more we can talk about that in a very direct way the more cover
or protection it gives to my colleagues and other federal agencies.
Ann Beauchesne: Yes?
Go ahead.
Woman #1: Commissioner, good to see you, Mary Ann Conta with UPS.
Can you give us a few thoughts about your work on Beyond the Border and how you're
going to move forward just working with CBSA on opening the pre-clearance?
Gil Kerlikowske: So CBSA will still require
through the government of Canada legislation to allow that.
I think we'll be able to move a little bit more quickly when it comes to that.
I think given the strong working relationship
that the two agencies have that hosting and sharing with CBSA
their ability to do some of the work after legislation here in the United States,
where they can be to work within the United States is absolutely fine.
There are so many now;
there are so many systems now that are available to verify the work
that's being done whether it's video systems, tracking systems, et cetera,
that an overarching concern that, well, someone,
a representative from Canada is doing this,
or it's a representative from the United States.
We should be able to trust each other.
And of course we also have those systems in place.
I think that that agreement that has received so much support
will continue to receive support from industries
on both sides of the border as they work with both our United States Congress
and Canada's legislature and government to move forward.
Ann Beauchesne: Over here?
Woman #2: Good morning, Commissioner.
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with us.
I apologize if I bring up a subject that you already discussed,
but I was a little late.
The question has to do with port departure filing,
and I should mention that many in industry are very concerned who now
enjoy the benefits of port departure filing may lose that benefit
because [inaudible 49:06] has asked us to eliminate it.
I was just wondering if you see any way possible that a solution
could be reached that would satisfy international security concerns
and at the same time preserve this great benefit
for some of the companies that need it and deserve it.
Gil Kerlikowske: Thanks.
I mean, you really hit me with a question that I couldn't even begin to answer.
So just so you know.
Woman #2: May I say that I was worried that it might not have gotten to your level,
but I decided to ask it anyway.
Gil Kerlikowske: Somehow I think it will now.
Woman #2: I'm sorry.
What did you say?
Gil Kerlikowske: I think, I think it'll get to my level now.
Man #4: Commissioner, Bill Oriel from National Association of Beverage Importers.
The trade and labor went through just a horrible port slowdown on the West Coast
that's just being alleviated right now.
Customs was somewhat of a bystander on that, but I'm asking.
You must've gone through that too, getting briefings all the time.
Are there any lessons learned for Customs having gone through
that kind of experience on the West Coast and the huge impacts it had on trade?
Gil Kerlikowske: Yeah, I think there are, Bill.
And listen, I know you just stepped off COAC
and we thank you very much for your service on that.
That was tremendously helpful.
But we watched that very carefully, and you know, it kind of hit home
because I'd hear from people in Washington State about the apple crop
that actually was not able to reach an export market so the costs were tremendous.
And you'd like to see some type of labor peace
because when I was the police chief in Seattle we had six years;
we had the slowdown also.
So it creates some difficulties.
Todd Owen, both in his position now but also in his position at Long Beach in LAX,
Todd worked very hard to have in place
a whole series of additional support mechanisms,
whether when it was actually going to be settled
and now things were going to be moving more quickly.
Would we be bringing in people TDY?
Would we be bringing people in on overtime?
Would we have extra shifts?
What are the different things that we could do?
Those port directors have been pretty amazing,
whether it's Oakland, Seattle, et cetera,
of being able to shift some of their resources away from other locations
when it came time that the cranes were operating fully
and the cargo was coming off
to make sure that now there wasn't a new holdup, and it would've been us.
So we learned the lessons from six years ago,
and we had them, and we learned a few more lessons this time.
Thanks, Bill.
Ann Beauchesne: We have time for one more question back here.
Man #5: Hi, Commissioner, David Richardson with Southwest Airlines.
Thanks for coming out today.
Just congratulations on the pre-clearance agreement with Canada.
Could you please address the possibility of possibly some sort of
pre-clearance agreement with Mexico in the future?
Gil Kerlikowske: I think Mexico is a little further off
when it comes onto the pre-clearance.
By the way, the government of Mexico and several of the airports,
mostly in the high tourist destinations, have shown an interest in doing that.
I think we've made a good first step with a mutual recognition arrangement
on trade and cargo security where we're both recognizing our mutual programs
for vetting traders, Trusted Trader programs.
And I think that we can expand upon that when it comes to passengers also.
I think it's a little further.
I think it's a little further down the road for the pre-clearance in Mexico.
But it was heartening to see;
it was heartening to see a couple letters from others, so good, thanks.
Ann Beauchesne: Commissioner, clearly a lot of progress
has been made under your leadership, terrific job.
Thank you.
I guess I just want to give you the opportunity,
anything that you haven't been asked this morning
that you'd like to hit on or anything that the Chamber and our members
and the private sector can be doing more of in the next couple of years
with you and your team.
Gil Kerlikowske: Yeah, I think that the burden falls on us quite a bit.
People like Todd and Brenda and Marie Eloisa are very busy,
but I have never seen them not take the opportunity to attend one of your meetings,
one of your conferences, to have some of the very smart people
like Steve and others to be able to brief, and we do that a lot.
We spend a lot of time and effort in that.
And I think it's time and effort that is well spent.
So you should not be, and I don't think you have been.
You should not be the least bit hesitant
in asking and demanding of us that we continue and do more.
Thank you.
Ann Beauchesne: Thank you.
Thank you, Commissioner.
I appreciate it.