International Mail Security: Costs and Benefits of Using Electronic Data to Screen Mail Need to Be Assessed
Highlights
What GAO Found
Express consignment operators (like FedEx and DHL) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to inspect inbound international express cargo and mail. Express consignment operators are required to provide “electronic advance data” (EAD)—such as the shipper's and recipient's name and address—for all inbound express cargo. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) uses this information to target inspections. USPS is not required to provide this information to CBP. Nonetheless, as of March 2017, advance data are unavailable for roughly half of inbound international mail. Although USPS and CBP have two pilot programs under way to target mail for inspection based on EAD, they have not established specific and measureable goals and therefore lack the performance targets needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilots. Without these performance targets, USPS and CBP are unable to make well-informed decisions about the possible expansion of these pilots in the future. While USPS officials reported in November of 2016 that they planned to expand one of the pilots, CBP officials stated that the pilot was not ready for expansion because of USPS's inability to provide 100 percent of targeted mail to CBP for inspection. USPS stated that it is working to address challenges related to identifying targeted mail within sacks containing hundreds of individual pieces of mail (see figure).
Examples of Mail Accepted at the U.S. Postal Service's International Service Centers
Options for collecting EAD include negotiating agreements with foreign postal operators and legally requiring EAD, but the costs and benefits of using EAD to target mail for inspection are unclear. USPS and CBP officials stated that having EAD to target mail for inspection could result in saving time and resources and increase the percentage of inspections that identify threatening items. However, USPS has not calculated the cost of collecting EAD from countries with which it has data-sharing agreements, and neither USPS nor CBP has collected the necessary information to determine the extent to which the use of EAD would provide benefits relative to current methods of choosing mail for inspection. For example, CBP has collected data on the rate of seizures per inspection for current pilot programs, but it has not collected comparable data for other screening methods it uses to target mail for inspection. As such, USPS and CBP risk spending resources on efforts that may not increase the security of inbound international mail or that may not result in sufficient improvement to justify the costs.
Why GAO Did This Study
Expanding international use of e-commerce has increased the volume of global trade, potentially increasing threats sent to the United States via international mail and express cargo. Some in Congress have called for additional measures to identify prohibited items, such as increased collection of EAD that may provide CBP with information to better focus its screening efforts by targeting mail for inspection. GAO was asked to review the security of inbound international mail.
In this report, GAO addresses, among other objectives, (1) how inbound international items are inspected as they arrive in the United States; and (2) what options exist to collect EAD and the costs and benefits of using it to target mail for inspection. GAO reviewed documentation and interviewed officials from CBP, USPS, the U.S. Department of State, and, based on 2015 inbound international volume, the three largest express consignment operators. GAO also conducted site visits to all of USPS's International Service Centers and two express consignment operators' facilities, to observe screening operations and interview officials.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that CBP, in coordination with USPS: (1) establish measureable performance goals to assess pilot programs and (2) evaluate the costs and benefits of using EAD to target mail for inspection compared with other targeting methods. CBP and USPS agreed with these recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected Sort descending | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Homeland Security | To provide information on the costs and benefits of collecting electronic advance data for use in targeting inbound international mail for screening, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Commissioner of CBP to, in conjunction with USPS, evaluate the relative costs and benefits of collecting electronic advance data for targeting mail for inspection in comparison to other methods. |
Closed – Implemented
The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary federal agency tasked with targeting and inspecting suspicious inbound international items and seizing illegal goods entering the country. Express consignment operators (like FedEx and DHL) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) work with CBP to inspect inbound international express cargo and mail. Express consignment operators are required to provide "electronic advance data" (EAD)-such as the shipper's and recipient's name and address-for all inbound express cargo and CBP uses this information to target inspections. In 2017, GAO reported that USPS and CBP officials stated that increasing the use of EAD to target mail for inspection could result in saving time and resources and increase the percentage of inspections that identify threatening items. However, USPS had not calculated the cost of collecting EAD from countries with which it has data-sharing agreements, and neither USPS nor CBP has collected the necessary information to determine the extent to which the use of EAD would provide benefits relative to current methods of choosing mail for inspection . In the absence of information on the relative costs and benefits of increased use of EAD, USPS and CBP were unable to fully understand whether obtaining additional EAD for targeting purposes would provide security or resource benefits. As such, GAO recommended that CBP, in conjunction with USPS, evaluate the relative costs and benefits of collecting EAD for targeting mail for inspection in comparison to other methods. In 2018, CBP completed an analysis of the costs and benefits of using EAD to target inbound mail for inspection at one of five USPS international service centers locations in comparison with the costs and benefits of its baseline methods of targeting mail , which is the method that have been used historically. Specifically, the analysis identified the costs to both CBP and USPS of targeting based on EAD as compared to the baseline- including the costs of technology and infrastructure needed to target based on EAD -as well as the benefits of each method represented by the percentage of seizures per inspection . As a result of conducting this analysis, CBP and USPS have the information needed to better understand the costs and benefits of both the baseline method of targeting mail as well as transitioning to using EAD for targeting.
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| Department of Homeland Security | To ensure that current pilot programs related to electronic advance data provide insights that help in assessing USPS's effectiveness at providing mail targeted by CBP for inspection, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Commissioner of CBP to, in conjunction with USPS, (1) establish measureable performance goals for pilot programs and (2) assess the performance of the pilots in achieving these goals. |
Closed – Implemented
The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the primary federal agency tasked with targeting and inspecting suspicious inbound international items and seizing illegal goods entering the country. Express consignment operators (like FedEx and DHL) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) work with CBP to inspect inbound international express cargo and mail. Express consignment operators are required to provide "electronic advance data" (EAD)-such as the shipper's and recipient's name and address-for all inbound express cargo and CBP uses this information to target inspections. In 2017, GAO reported that although USPS and CBP had pilot programs under way to target mail for inspection based on EAD, they had not established specific and measureable goals and therefore lacked the performance targets needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilots. Without these performance targets, USPS and CBP were unable to make well-informed decisions about the possible expansion of these pilots in the future. For example, while USPS officials reported in November of 2016 that they planned to expand one of the pilots, CBP officials stated that the pilot was not ready for expansion because of USPS's inability to provide 100 percent of targeted mail to CBP for inspection. As such, GAO recommended that CBP, in conjunction with USPS, (1) establish measureable performance goals for pilot programs and (2) assess the performance of the pilots in achieving these goals. CBP and USPS issued the Joint Strategic Plan on Mandatory Advance Information in December 2018, which establishes measureable goals and methods for assessing success. For example, CBP and USPS agreed to a methodology for calculating the percentage of targeted mail USPS is able to provide to CBP for inspection, and established targets or goals for that percentage. Additionally, both USPS and CBP have established performance dashboards which have enabled to enable ongoing assessment of the performance of the pilots in achieving the established goals. As a result, while CBP and USPS have already expanded the pilot programs to the other sites, the agencies are in a better position to assess progress, identify risks, and take corrective actions.
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