In August of 2003, membership in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) was made available to the following foreign manufacturers defined below:

    •Mexican Manufacturers exporting to the United States from Mexico, who manufacture or produce, as well as pack and prepare for shipping (e.g. loading and sealing trailers/containers), any article or item destined for the United States. All of these activities must be performed at a facility that is owned and controlled by the Mexican manufacturer.

    There are two ways for Mexican Manufacturers to obtain C-TPAT certification: A related party U.S. C-TPAT importer, who included the Mexican Manufacturer in their approved C-TPAT Supply Chain Security Profile, may submit C-TPAT application information on behalf of its Related Party Mexican Manufacturer as described below in the C-TPAT Application Procedures for C-TPAT Related Party Mexican Manufacturers; or, Mexican Manufacturers not related to a U.S. C-TPAT Importer or not included in the Related Party’s C-TPAT Supply Chain Security Profile must submit the required information as found in the instructions below entitled C-TPAT Application Procedures for Foreign Manufacturers.

FAST participation for Mexican manufacturers

    Upon receipt of C-TPAT certification, the aforementioned Mexican Manufacturers will be eligible to participate in the U.S. /Mexico Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program.  FAST is designed to expedite and facilitate commercial truck crossings by implementing the mandated requirements of securing the flow of goods between the United States and Mexico under a secure infrastructure. For more information on FAST, please refer to the FAST section on the www.cbp.gov site.

    •Other Invited Foreign Manufacturers – Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has identified an initial group of foreign manufacturers outside of Mexico that will receive an invitation from CBP to join C-TPAT.  These foreign manufacturers must manufacture or produce, as well as pack and prepare for shipping (e.g. loading and sealing containers), any article or item destined for the United States. All of these activities must be performed at a facility that is owned and controlled by the eligible foreign manufacturer. Invited Foreign Manufacturers are required to follow the instructions below entitled C-TPAT Application Procedures for Foreign Manufacturers.

    To apply for participation in C-TPAT, instructions for each of the aforementioned parties are outlined in the Application Instructions.

Application for related party Mexican manufacturers

    To qualify for the Related Party Mexican Manufacturer status, the Mexican Manufacturer must:

    •Meet the aforementioned definition of a Mexican manufacturer.

    •Be wholly or majority owned subsidiaries of a current certified U.S. C-TPAT importer.

    •Be controlled by the U.S. certified C-TPAT importer.

    •Be included in the Related Party Importer’s approved C-TPAT Supply Chain Security Profile.

    Mexican manufacturers that are included in their related U.S. C-TPAT importer’s approved C-TPAT Supply Chain Security Profile have the option of either submitting their own C-TPAT for Foreign Manufacturers application information (i.e. submit the Voluntary Agreement and the Supply Chain Security Profile Questionnaire) or they may have their Related Party U.S. C-TPAT Importer submit application information as described in this section.

    Mexican Related Parties included in the Security Profile of their U.S. C-TPAT Importer must have the certified U.S. C-TPAT Importer submit two original copies of the following information on official company letterhead.

    •Legal company name

    •Street address

    •Manufacturer identification (MID) number for each street address (required to obtain FAST approval/benefit)

    •Company point of contact

    •Date of submission of C-TPAT security profile

    •The Importer of Record (IOR) number or other CBP assigned number, which are covered by the security program you describe.

    Required C-TPAT related party information:

    •Legal company name

    •Street address

    •Company point of contact

    •Name of point of contact and title

    •Telephone number

    •Fax number

    •Email address

    •Company’s corporate structure including names of senior management officials at the corporate and operational level (in the manufacturing country).

    •Locations of parent/affiliated companies and related manufacturing sites that ship to the United States.

    •Proof of incorporation (e.g. copies of government issued certificates and/or licenses).

    •Description of the company’s fiscal status including capital sources (e.g. privately owned, or publicly traded).

    •Manufacturer identification number (MID)

    •Names of primary customers and business partners that import from affiliated companies and related manufacturing sites.

    •Types of commodities produced at each manufacturing facility

    Indicate if you or your service providers participate in CBP Industry Partnership Programs: the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), the Carrier Initiative Program (CIP), the Super Carrier Initiative Program (SCIP) and/or the Business Anti-Smuggling Coalition (BASC).

    Please submit this information to: Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Room 5.4C, Washington D.C. 20229, Attention: C-TPAT Foreign Manufacturer.