Against the clock: Cargo industry races to meet new TSA regs

U.S. shippers are watching the clock tick as they prepare for Oct. 31. The date, just four months away, marks the end of a grace period for shippers moving difficult-to-screen items out of the country by air. [caption id="attachment_57135843" align="alignright" width="300"] A technical detection dog inspects a pallet of export cargo, but not all cargo can be screened by canine, or even X-ray or ETD. (Photo/Hactl)[/caption] The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had enacted its Impracticable-to-screen (ITS) Amendment to give shippers time to prepare for a new mandate: Starting Nov. 1, all air cargo originating in the United States and destined for foreign locations must be screened or secured before being loaded onto aircraft. That mandate is a response to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirement that all member states ensure that 100% of international air cargo transported on commercial aircraft is either screened to detect the presence of concealed explosive devices or kept under appropriate security controls throughout the supply chain to prevent the introduction of concealed explosives. ICAO’s policy took effect in July 2021 and TSA’s grace period to comply began at the same time. ITS cargo no longer exempt Before July 2021 cargo transported on freighters did not require the same level of security that bellyhold cargo required, largely because general consensus was that terrorists would target passenger planes, so the risk to freighters was low. ICAO changed its protocols following a 2010 plot in which two bombs were hidden inside a toner cartridge originating in Yemen and bound for the United States. The bombs were discovered before detonation. “Based on that plot, the International Civil Aviation Organization amended their standards and recommended practices,” John Beckius , TSA’s executive director of air cargo division, policy, plans and engagement, said in a panel at the CNS Partnership Conference in Miami on June 5. “They eliminated the distinction between cargo transported on passenger aircraft or all-cargo.” ITS cargo comprises large machinery, jet engines, barrels of chemicals and other items that cannot be screened by traditional methods, such as X-ray, canine or explosive trace detection (ETD). Since July 2021, ITS air cargo has been shippable if a paper form was filled out certifying it was exempt from screening, Beckius said. Either meet deadline or don’t fly In order to ship ITS cargo by air starting in November, shippers must join TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Program to become a certified cargo screening facility (CCSF), like the “known consigner” method used by many ICAO member states. A known consigner is a shipper with processes that have met common security standards and regulations for air transport and is trusted to screen its own items. [caption id="attachment_57136828" align="alignright" width="300"] Air cargo that doesn't meet TSA's new regulations will not fly. (CanStock/rommma)[/caption] “The known consigner itself doesn’t exist in the United States, but what TSA is proposing to the carriers in this instance is very similar to becoming a known consigner that the rest of the world recognizes,” Steve Alterman , president of the Cargo Airline Association , told Air Cargo Next . Failure to enroll in TSA’s Certified Cargo Screening Program does not necessarily mean cargo will be stranded with the manufacturers, but it won’t go by air. “It means domestically, it’s going to go by truck,” Bob Imbriani , executive vice president international at freight forwarder Team Worldwide , told Air Cargo Next . “And internationally, it’ll have to go ocean. Now, that's not always the best option — but it is an option. So, hopefully it won’t shut [manufacturers] down. It just means they’re going to have to modify their supply chain.” Shippers face time crunch The biggest hurdle for shippers and the air cargo industry is the looming Oct. 31 deadline. “TSA is pretty inflexible on this deadline,” Brandon Fried , executive director of the Airforwarders Association (AfA), told Air Cargo Next . TSA’s Beckius stressed that there will be no extensions granted. “TSA is famous for kicking the can down the road,” Beckius said. “But I can tell you, we’re holding the line on this October.” As the temporary ITS Amendment always had an end-date, some industry leaders do feel prepared for Oct. 31. “These are not new regulations going into effect,” Benno Forster , senior vice president and head of operations and procurement Americas at global freight forwarder DB Schenker , told Air Cargo Next . “The regulations changed as of June 30, 2021, and it was made clear to us by TSA that the ITS Amendment was always intended to be temporary, mainly to give shippers more time to become CCSFs if they shipped cargo that could fall into this category.” [caption id="attachment_57136827" align="alignright" width="300"] The deadline is Oct. 31 — no exceptions (CanStock/homestudio)[/caption] Still, many shippers and forwarders feel harried. “While we’ve known this is coming, we didn’t have the tactical aspect on how we were going to achieve this,” Fried said. “So we really didn’t know what TSA wanted us to do and how to do it up until just a few months ago. And they threw in this complicated, secure packing facility option into the mix, which really slowed us down some.” With about four months until the deadline, shippers looking to enroll in the TSA program need to do so as soon as possible, as the process takes time. “It’s not overnight,” TSA’s Beckius said. “We’d like people to give us three months to approve them.” Having seen various clients go through enrollment, Team Worldwide’s Imbriani said the duration to become approved varies. “It can vary from 30 to 60 days, and we’ve seen others taking much longer because they had to do much more with their facility — background checks of employees and things like that,” Imbriani said. “It’s really going to be [determined by] the starting point of that facility, how secure they are and how close to meeting some of the requirements they may already be.” Ticking clock adds stress to compliance demands After years of participating in TSA programs, Schenker’s Forster said that the administration’s processes are not overly challenging. “We have not found the process to be unnecessarily arduous and think shippers would be surprised to learn that they already have many of the requirements in place to become shipper CCSFs through their normal business processes and procedures,” Forster said. Nevertheless, this is the first time many shippers have had to work directly with the TSA , Team Worldwide’s Imbriani said. “Anyone who deals with government agencies, not just the TSA, knows it’s not always easy dealing with government agencies, to understand the protocols and the rules and the regulations and all of that,” he said. “We’re finding a lot of the shippers who may have to look at participating in these programs don’t even know where to start. They’ve never dealt with government agencies — certainly not the TSA.” Once the shipper understands the regulations, compliance can be another obstacle. “We know of a number of companies that produce a product in one facility, but then it’s stored in a public facility, or another warehouse facility, and then what we call ‘chain-of-custody issues’ come up,” Imbriani said. “So, will every company who even wants to participate be in a position to participate? They may have to change their entire supply chain,” Imbriani added. Education to avoid supply chain disruption Another issue will be shippers who are still unaware of the regulations. [caption id="attachment_57136254" align="alignright" width="300"] It will be "wheels up" for shippers who enroll in TSA's CCSF program. (CanStock/YakobchukOlena)[/caption] “I think there will always be a faction that just doesn’t pay attention, buries its head in the sand,” AfA’s Fried said. “The reality is that there will be certain folks out there that just didn’t see this coming or didn’t understand the implication. “It’s not a large segment of the shipping community,” he added. “As a matter of fact, it’s a very small one. But, in many instances, it’s a segment of the community that represents a good portion of our nation’s general gross domestic product.” Based on the number of ITS shipments Schenker has moved since June 2021, Forster thinks the end of the amendment will not significantly impact most shippers. “That being said, we are focusing on addressing the issue with those valued customers that we do suspect will be affected,” Forster said. “For the industry as a whole, we do see the potential for some disruption to the supply chain for certain shippers.” To prevent serious disruption, the AfA and the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America launched an education campaign. “Air forwarders need to be focused on the upcoming impracticable-to-screen deadline,” Fried said. “We need to be educating not only the indirect air carrier community, but customers that have specific types of commodities that will fall under this change.” The AfA held an in-person information session on this topic in Miami in April and is planning two sessions in Chicago on June 27; to register, visit AfA’s website . The AfA hopes to hold more sessions in New York and Los Angeles, Fried said. Forwarders and shippers are encouraged to reach out to the AfA to schedule a session in their cities. The AfA is also presenting a series of webinars on the topic.

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