International Mail: Progress Made in Using Electronic Data to Detect Illegal Opioid Shipments, but Additional Steps Remain

What GAO Found

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have taken some steps to implement requirements included in the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2018 (STOP Act of 2018). For example, the act requires USPS to transmit to CBP certain percentages of the advance electronic data (AED)—such as the contents’ description and shipper’s name—that USPS collects from foreign postal operators. CBP officers analyze the data to target shipments that might contain illegal opioids. Once targeted, USPS presents the shipments to CBP for inspection. The act also required the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to promulgate regulations detailing USPS’s AED-transmission responsibilities by October 24, 2019.

• AED Transmission Performance: Although USPS did not transmit the required percentages of AED to CBP from January 2019 through August 2019, its transmission rates have generally increased. USPS and CBP plan to improve transmission performance by, for example, leveraging agreements with foreign postal operators. DHS was required to promulgate regulations that would clarify key details about how USPS should transmit AED to CBP; however, according to officials, DHS was still working through competing priorities and thus has not yet completed drafting the regulations. Once drafted, DHS must then submit the regulations to the Office of Management and Budget for further review. Establishing a time frame for completing its drafting of the AED regulations and submitting them for further review can help DHS prioritize the effort. Until the regulations are ultimately promulgated, USPS’s AED transmission responsibilities will remain unclear.
• Steps to Assess and Improve AED Quality: USPS and CBP have each taken steps to assess AED quality, but key efforts are ongoing. For example, USPS conducts a monthly assessment to determine the extent to which all AED data it receives are complete. USPS then coordinates with foreign postal operators to address identified data quality issues. CBP plans to support USPS’s quality-improvement efforts by informing USPS of any issues identified through CBP’s assessment approach, which it is currently developing.
• Costs and Benefits of Using AED: In February 2019, CBP initiated a broad analysis as part of the rulemaking process for its AED regulations. This analysis will assess the costs and benefits of using AED to target international mail at all international mail facilities that currently receive the data. CBP previously completed such an assessment during a pilot at USPS and CBP international mail facilities at John F. Kennedy International Airport and found several benefits of using AED versus other methods, including notably higher seizure rates for narcotics.
• Presentation of Targeted International Mail to CBP: USPS did not meet its goals for presenting targeted international mail shipments to CBP for inspection from January 2019 through August 2019; however, USPS’s presentation performance is generally improving. USPS officials told us that USPS plans to implement a variety of technology enhancements intended to improve performance. Although USPS has not met its goals, CBP officials told us USPS’s performance is presently close to the target goal and thus has not substantially affected CBP's ability to use AED to target international mail shipments for inspection.

Why GAO Did This Study

The Congress has called upon USPS, CBP, and the U.S. Department of State (State) to collaboratively improve the nation’s ability to detect and interdict international mail shipments that contain illegal opioids—a drug that kills more than 130 people every day in the United States.

The STOP Act of 2018 also includes provisions for GAO to assess issues related to international mail USPS receives. This report examines: (1) the extent to which USPS has transmitted required AED to CBP; (2) steps USPS and CBP have taken to assess or improve AED quality; (3) what is known about the costs and benefits of using AED; and (4) the extent to which USPS has presented targeted international mail to CBP for inspection.

GAO reviewed relevant laws and regulations as well as USPS and CBP documents, such as monthly AED transmission and presentation performance reports for January 2019 through August 2019. GAO also interviewed officials from USPS, CBP, and State.