At AIAG’s Customs Town Hall event in Livonia, Michigan, on November 17, 2015, Paul Allen, manager — trusted traders for Canada Border Services Agency, reminded AIAG members that they are responsible for the goods they bring into and out of the country.

“This includes goods you’ve ordered, but also goods you may not have ordered,” he pointed out in a video interview with AIAG before his Trusted Traders Overview presentation to attendees at the Customs Town Hall. “AIAG members may be unknowingly complicit in introducing contraband into the country.”

Allen, who has more than 30 years experience in customs, emphasized specific responsibilities that AIAG members must take when there is the potential for them to introduce contraband into the country, adding, “there are a number of ways which they can help prevent that from occurring.”

One of his first recommendations is for suppliers to sign up for the C-TPAT program (U.S.), the NEEC program (Mexico), or the PIP program (Canada). “Taking action to join these programs is how suppliers can contribute to the national security issues in all three NAFTA countries and play their part in securing their cargo,” Allen said. “These are free programs and participants also get access to specialists to help them secure their own supply chain.”

Looking to the future, Allen predicts that “customs administration will be putting more scrutiny on cargo being imported into their respective countries, especially after what has happened recently in Paris and other countries.” Trust traders, he said, could reduce their risk of customs examination just by joining the C-TPAT, NEEC, or PIP programs.

Governments are ramping up on their examinations, but they have facilitated programs for those they know and trust, he said. “My message to AIAG members is to join these programs and get ready now,” Allen said. “You’ll have a much easier time.”

Watch video below.

Carla Kalogeridis is AIAG’s e-news editor. Save the date now for this year’s Customs Town Hall on November 15, 2016, scheduled at Laurel Manor in Livonia, Michigan.