Business people gathered at the University of Akron last week to listen to an insurance salesman make his pitch. This wasn't an ordinary policy, or pitcher, however. Anthony Macisco, an assistant special agent for the Department of Homeland Security, was recruiting clients to buy into better supply chain security.

  Macisco was the keynote speaker at a half-day program on that topic, sponsored by the Northeast Ohio WERCouncil, a chapter of the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC). Macisco's proposition is that any business that ships or sources globally must take part in securing its shipping
channels.

  “Before 9/11 there was no program to detect, deter or prevent the concealment of terrorist weapons of mass destruction," he states. "One of the greatest threats to all trading partners and to the U.S. is the potential for terrorists to use the international container system to smuggle weapons or even terrorist operatives into the country. They could even turn cargo containers into weapons. If even a single one of those containers goes off, the destruction to trade and the economies of the world would be enormous."

  He quantified those consequences with numbers gathered from a recent study of the effects of two separate incidents involving two containers: one on the East Coast and the other on the West Coast. The results of such a bi-coastal incident would be far reaching:

  Every U.S. seaport would close for more than a week.?The backlog of container traffic would require 92 days to clear.

  The Dow would drop at least 500 points and cost the U.S. economy $58 billion.

  National security experts have pointed out the vulnerability of cargo containers to terrorist exploitation. That's why C-TPAT was formed: the U.S. Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. This program is an expansion of the original Americas Counter Smuggling Initiative (ACSI). The purpose of these programs is to identify security risks without choking off the flow of trade.

  “A terrorist attack in a U.S. port would spread economic ripples around the world," Macisco says. "That's why a global solution is needed. The Department of Homeland Security is working with domestic and international partners, including other customs agencies, to secure not only the trade coming into the U.S., but trade anywhere in the world."

  He pointed out that on a daily average there are no more than 13,000 inspectors on duty in a 24-hour period. Within a day these inspectors are responsible for more than 317 ports of entry spread out over 95,000 miles of U.S. border. These inspectors process daily more than 1.1 million passengers, including 724,000 aliens. They also process 64,432 trucks and rail and sea containers, 2,639 aircraft, and 365,079 other vehicles.

  hey monitor more than 75,000 merchandise entries and seize and arrest 135 people. They also make 131 significant narcotics seizures, and collect more than $200,000 in currency, 193 firearms, and almost $2 million in commercial merchandise.

  “Because of this overwhelming workload and the daunting task of securing U.S. borders, our government and industries must work together in a regional aid pact," Macisco says. "One way to accomplish this is through supply chain security measures like C-TPAT."

  The following are the core initiatives upon which C-TPAT is built:

  ?The collection of advance electronic information on all cargo shipments coming to the U.S. by land, air or sea.

  ?Partnership with the private sector to better secure the world supply chain in exchange for faster processing of goods at U.S. ports.

  That last point was the reason for Macisco's presentation in Akron that day.

  “C-TPAT partners have made a commitment and the investments needed to protect their supply chains from concealment of terrorist weapons," he says. "In exchange, U.S. Customs provides benefits such as fewer inspections upon shipment arrival and faster processing at the border."

  More than 9,000 companies have already pledged to meet C-TPAT criteria. That's 5,000 importers and 4,200 carriers, not to mention 1,400 brokers and nearly 400 foreign manufacturers.

  C-TPAT members will soon enjoy access to a web page that lists fellow C-TPAT members and offers advance notification of elevations in threat levels. The site will also offer a threat assessment and non-classified information pertaining to supply chain security. This access is being offered based on the belief that companies taking heroic measures to secure their supply chains should be eligible for this as well as a tiered system of other benefits based on the level of security, validation and results from their use of C-TPAT best practices.

  Tier one consists of certified companies that have submitted security plans and have committed to meeting minimal security criteria. Those companies must not have any history of significant compliance or law enforcement problems. They will go through fewer security and compliance inspections, and have access to fast lanes at the land borders.

  Tier two adds supply chain validation to member certification, resulting in even fewer inspections than tier one members. Customs has already validated the supply chains of more than 10 percent of all certified partners; another 20 percent are in process.
Tier three consists of those certified and validated C-TPAT partners who have adopted C-TPAT best practices. C-TPAT partners who meet this "gold standard" will get into the green lane - with few or no security inspections.

  Customs will view C-TPAT members as trusted partners in the war against global terrorism, according to Macisco. He also believes internationalizing cargo security strategy will improve the overall efficiency of global trade. U.S. Customs and the Department of Homeland Security are working with the World Customs Organization to accomplish this. This strategy was presented to the WCO and its 164 member countries last June.

  “This is not just a one or two year program, it's a way of doing business in the 21st century," Macisco notes. "It's the best insurance policy against terrorist destruction your company can buy."