New Import safety report

Here is the link to the just issued report on import safety by the interagency working group appointed by President Bush in July. The reports notes that in fiscal year 2007 we will import $350 billion in goods from Canada and $341 billion from China. The government says we can't inspect our way to import safety, but they do see room for change.


From the report's introductory letter by Michael Leavitt, Secretary, Health and Human Services and chair of the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety:

The Interagency Working Group on Import Safety is pleased to submit this initial report, Protecting American Consumers Every Step of the Way: A strategic framework for continual improvement in import safety, in accordance with your Executive Order of July 18, 2007. The report outlines an approach that can build upon existing efforts to improve the safety of imported products, while facilitating trade.
Americans benefit from one of the safest food supplies and among the highest standards of consumer protection in the world. Our task is to build on this solid foundation by identifying actions for both the public and private sectors that will help our import safety system continually improve and adapt to a rapidly growing and changing global economy.
Approximately $2 trillion of imported products entered the United States economy last year and experts project that this amount will triple by 2015. The federal government cannot and should not attempt to physically inspect every product entering the United States. Doing so would not only bring international trade to a standstill, but would also distract limited resources from those imported goods that pose the greatest risk. Instead, we have to be smarter about what we do.
While we acknowledge it is not possible to eliminate all risk with imported and domestic products, being smarter requires us to find new ways to protect American consumers and continually improve the safety of our imports. We recommend working with the importing community to develop approaches that consider risks over the life cycle of an imported product, and that focus actions and resources to minimize the likelihood of unsafe products reaching U.S. consumers.
This will require shifting from reliance on "snapshots" at the border to interdict unsafe products, to a cost-effective, prevention-focused "video" model that identifies and targets those critical points in the import life cycle where the risk of unsafe products is greatest and verifies the safety of products at those important phases. Such a risk-based, prevention-focused model will help ensure that safety is built into products before they reach our borders.
Import safety is a public-private responsibility and some agencies and private parties are leading the way towards a more preventative system. There are important roles for the private sector, foreign governments, the U.S. government, and state and local governments. As with domestic products, recognizing best practices and incentives within the private sector and building consensus among the public and private sector are cost-effective and proven ways to minimize risks.
Supporting this model are six building blocks: 1) Advance a common vision, 2) Increase accountability, enforcement and deterrence, 3) Focus on risks over the life cycle of an imported product, 4) Build interoperable systems, 5) Foster a culture of collaboration, and 6) Promote technological innovation and new science.
Over the coming weeks, we plan to solicit extensive comments and recommendations from the public, and we will provide to you a follow-on Action Plan by mid-November. The Action Plan will be based on this Strategic Framework and will lay out a road map with short- and long-term recommendations for improving import safety.

Here is FDA reaction:

STATEMENT BY COMMISSIONER von ESCHENBACH ON THE RELEASE OF THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK DOCUMENT ON IMPORT SAFETY
Background: HHS Secretary Leavitt today delivered to President Bush a strategic framework on import safety. The framework was developed by the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety, established by the President July 18 to examine our nation’s system for assuring that all of our imported products are safe. For more information, visit: http://www.importsafety.gov.
"I strongly endorse the release of the Strategic Framework developed by the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety and commend Secretary Leavitt for leading this comprehensive effort.
Recent recalls of imported products have caused Americans to question the safety of imports. Americans rightly expect to purchase food and medical products without having to worry about their safety; and assuring the safety of these products is a core part of our mission at the FDA. The President has charged the Interagency Working Group to focus their efforts on how to work smarter and better with importers, manufacturers, and other governments to better assure that the imported products we purchase are indeed safe. As part of this Presidential initiative, Secretary Leavitt and I have traveled extensively these past few months throughout the U.S. visiting the Agency's field operations. Across the country, we witnessed our field staff standing shoulder to shoulder with our partners from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Customs and Border Protection and others, working together to assure the safety of imported products. In visits to nearly 20 cities/ports from Oakland to Miami, including El Paso, Tex.; Newark, N.J.; and Memphis, Tenn, we saw dedicated professionals doing difficult work; observing first hand the diligent efforts of FDA employees and what they do every day to protect the American people. Most importantly, we heard from these professionals many ideas on how they believe we could do this job better and smarter.
The three organizing principles that form the keystones of the Strategic Framework: Prevention, Intervention and Response are ones we embrace strongly here at FDA and are principles we know will guide us towards better and smarter import safety strategies. We know that in the 21st century's global economy, our efforts to assure product safety for Americans cannot just begin at our borders, they must begin at the time the products are produced in other countries. I am excited about the fact that these principles have been embraced by the Framework, and I look forward to working with the Group on the Action Plan to be released in November. Together, we will further integrate and enhance our processes relating to the safety of imports."

Reaction from the USDA

Statement by Secretary Mike Johanns Regarding the Strategic Framework for Import Safety September 10, 2007
"I commend Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt for his leadership, as chair of the Interagency Working Group on Import Safety, in producing the Strategic Framework for import safety, which he presented to President Bush today.
"The Strategic Framework establishes the building blocks upon which the U.S. system of import safety can be strengthened, recognizing that the U.S. enjoys one of the safest food supplies in the world. Secretary Leavitt has traveled the country to collect input from those involved with importing goods, while also bringing together the collective ideas of the twelve federal departments that make-up the working group.
"The Strategic Framework will serve as the foundation for an Action Plan being developed by the working group, which we hope to present to the President in November. The action plan will provide specific short- and long-term recommendations.
"I look forward to being joined by Secretary Leavitt this Wednesday as we tour a small meat processing plant in Kansas City, Missouri, and meet with Midwest producers to hear their recommendations about strengthening import safety.
"I am also pleased to host a public meeting at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Jefferson Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on October 1, 2007, to provide consumers and advocates an opportunity to offer comments about import safety. Details about the public meeting and comment period, the Strategic Framework and other import safety information are available at www.importsafety.gov ."