New German customs clearance hits the ground running: performing customs clearance in the USEUCOM AOR is nothing new for SDDC or the 598th Transportation Terminal Croup. But clearing shipments 24-hours a day for cargo arriving via air is.

When the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) needed assistance in customs clearing commercial air cargo following the closure of Rhein Main Air Base in 2005, SDDC, with help from U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and USEUCOM, stepped up to the plate and delivered. In an effort to end the use of the T-1 transit document that had been issued since the closure of Rhein Main, the 598th Transportation Terminal Group and supporting commands have organized two customs clearance hubs to issue NATO Form 302s and resolve the problem. Using a contracted solution with ManTech International Corporation courtesy of U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command, and the U.S. Government-contracted Customs Process Automation (CPA)-NATO system, the 598th put Customs Clearance Officers (CCO's) at both Koln/Bonn and Frankfurt airports.

There were many reasons for the effort. German officials were unhappy with the closeout rate and effectiveness of the U.S. Government in performing customs clearance of duty free-eligible air cargo in Germany. Secondly, the interim T-1 process was costing more than $30 per shipment in order to pay air carriers to issue the transit document, when a NATO Form 302 had to be issued at destination anyway to declare the cargo duty free. Normally a shipment arriving via sea or air would be cleared on a Form 302 issued at the Port of Debarkation, which makes the T-1 unnecessary. When Rhein Main closed the staff that was performing much of this function was essentially taken away. The resulting abundance of T-1s being used was costing the Department of Defense (DoD) more than $5 million per year.

Additionally, increased European Union oversight over customs processes, the cumbersome T-1 process itself and the challenges that T-1 use created, meant that both the DoD and the German government were ready to return to Form 302 use via an improved duty-free customs clearance process using the CPA-NATO system.

According to Barry Smithey, USTRANSCOM J5/4, "USTRANSCOM has been working toward its vision of E-customs implemented worldwide. Based on the success of the CPA-NATO prototype in Germany as well as the CPA PacRim prototype in Korea, we will be awarding a contract late this year to develop an integrated CPA system that will give us the capability to implement that vision."

The 598th developed a contract solution with minimal DoD footprint for overseeing the process and functioning as stamp holder for Form 302s. The result: cutting costs, improving Host Nation confidence in U.S. duty free customs clearance, reducing impact on the Warfighter by minimizing manpower requirements, while simultaneously keeping delivery delays to a minimum and also complying with all regulatory customs requirements. While there have been some minor problems, the program has been a resounding success overall and all parties are generally quite pleased.

"DHL is very pleased with the new process! It helped us streamline Air Freight and Air Express procedures irrespective of destination location or transportation mode. The consignee is not involved in the clearance process which is saving us time as the entire clearance process can take place during the night upon shipment arrival," explained Marios Tsakalidis, Regional Program Manager for DHL. "We are even more excited about the potential of the CPA-NATO system considering the capabilities of the current platform."

Now, with this success story in Germany for commercial air shipments, USTRANSCOM is keeping an eye toward implementing the integrated CPA system in other countries and for other modes of transportation. A contract for acquisition of the program is expected to be awarded soon. Further, the success will help DoD to push towards full E-Customs in Germany. Rather than using a semi-automated system where delivery and closeout has to be done essentially manually under current agreements with the German Ministry of Finance, full E-Customs will make use of remote system access and electronic closeout, including providing German customs officials with access to the system. If all goes well, E-Customs in Germany will commence in early 2007.

by Mark LaRue, 598th Transportation Croup