A project to test whether to create a voluntary program for approved customs brokers to self-monitor and report compliance with trade regulations has been terminated, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

The Broker Self-Assessment demonstration program was modeled on the eight-year-old Importer Self-Assessment program. It was designed to promote high compliance levels with Customs laws and regulations by letting trusted brokers self-report compliance violations so that CBP specialists can devote limited resources to focus on higher-risk companies and enforcement issues.

Under the BSA program, CBP reviewed whether the brokers are able to update and improve internal controls, perform periodic testing of those controls and disclose to CBP deficiencies discovered through the testing. A key responsibility for the brokers is to maintain an audit trail linking financial records to entries filed with CBP.

The report by CBP's Office of International Trade said the pilot was not expanded because it could not "directly correlate" a broker's internal controls for processing customs paperwork with a reduced risk for violations of trade laws on inbound shipments.

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