What is CTPAT?

Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) voluntary trade partnership program in which CBP and members of the trade community work together to secure and facilitate the movement of legitimate international trade. The program focuses on improving security throughout the supply chain, beginning at the point of origin (including manufacturer, supplier, or vendor) through a point of distribution to the destination. C-TPAT member companies, called partners, agree to implement certain security procedures throughout their supply chains to protect those supply chains from terrorist infiltration and other illegal activities that threaten the security of the United States. C-TPAT partners who undertake these protections receive facilitated processing by CBP. As a result, the program helps CBP achieve its twin goals of improving security while facilitating the flow of global trade. In the course of enrolling, certifying, and validating C-TPAT applicants/partners and their supply chains, the C-TPAT system will receive personally identifiable information and confidential business information from the applicant/partner, as well as sensitive law enforcement information from existing law enforcement systems.