On January 17, 2018, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), published in the Federal Register a proposed rule [Docket No. 161228999-7867-01] that would establish a Commerce Trusted Trader Program (CTTP) as part of an effective seafood traceability process to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud. The voluntary CTTP supplements the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), recently implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Qualified importers who choose to participate in the CTTP would benefit from reduced reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and streamlined entry into U.S. commerce for seafood imports subject to the SIMP.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are both developing their own voluntary Trusted Trader programs designed to reduce costs to both the government and industry, and streamline processing of imports. While the CTTP shares many features with these programs, it is designed and intended to apply only to the SIMP. Details of the proposal are in the Federal Register.
Written comments must be received by March 19, 2018.
