US Border Officials to Test Blockchain for Tracking Import Certificates

U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to trial blockchain technology to verify North American Free Trade Agreement and Central American Free Trade Agreement certificates.

CBP Division of Business Transformation and Innovation head Vincent Annunziato said the agency was beginning a "Live fire testing" of a blockchain platform to certify that imported products originated where they claim during CBP's 2018 Trade Symposium in Atlanta, according to the American Shipper.

The new system, which will launch in September, is going to help CBP verify information about imported goods and check how foreign suppliers act toward American importers, he said.

"I can even go in and say, 'hey, I need a little information on the stitching,' or, 'I need information on what colors are viable,'" Annunziato said.

Annunziato said the blockchain system could be used in a mobile app, which would replace a paper-based manual process for verifying such information, thereby streamlining the agency's work.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, COAC formed a special group advising the Secretaries of Treasury and Homeland Security on the agency's commercial operations last November.

The body was said to focus on emerging technologies in general and on blockchain in particular.

This week, Annunziato confirmed that the committee was working to develop a proof-of-concept blockchain platform to verify intellectual property by confirming the relationship between licensees and licensors.

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