How U.S. Customs and Border Protection Is Connecting Trade and Sustainability with Lea-Ann Bigelow

[00:00:00] One of the things that regulators look for is this persistent, to use GS1's terminology,

[00:00:06] but it's good, this persistent, steady, unique identification for legal entities, businesses

[00:00:14] behind a transaction.

[00:00:16] We work with importers, broker community, but there is something called the importer

[00:00:22] of record that holds responsibility for filing compliant information that comes along with

[00:00:29] an imported good.

[00:00:30] And so for us, we need to be able to identify first that importer, but also once you've got

[00:00:36] that unique ID, you can hinge all kinds of really interesting data that is useful from the environmental

[00:00:44] standpoint, the sky's the limit, no pun intended, to layer that information about environmental

[00:00:50] impact.

[00:00:51] Hello and welcome to the Next Level Supply Chain with GS1 US, a podcast in which

[00:00:57] we explore the mind-bending world of global supply chains, covering topics such as automation,

[00:01:02] innovation, unique identity and more.

[00:01:05] I'm your co-host, Reed.

[00:01:07] And I'm Liz.

[00:01:08] And welcome to the show.

[00:01:10] Welcome to the Next Level Supply Chain with GS1 US.

[00:01:14] We're here live, which we never get to do that much.

[00:01:17] 99% is remote.

[00:01:19] But we're here in Orlando at Connect.

[00:01:21] And we have a very special guest from the government side of the house.

[00:01:27] But Leigh Ann, if you wouldn't mind, just introduce yourself to our audience real quick.

[00:01:31] Absolutely.

[00:01:33] So my name's Leigh Bigelow.

[00:01:34] I am, yes, from the government, US Customs and Border Protection.

[00:01:38] And I'm the director of Green Trade for the agency, which means I'm really the

[00:01:44] champion, but I am certainly not a sole actor at CBP in bringing together all of our equities

[00:01:52] and focus on combating human-induced climate change as it relates to trade and environmental

[00:02:00] crime.

[00:02:01] We want to get emissions down almost to zero.

[00:02:04] No, that's very, very difficult in global supply chains.

[00:02:07] We also want to completely eradicate environmental crime.

[00:02:11] It has a nexus to all kinds of other terrible crimes, human trafficking, drug smuggling, you

[00:02:18] name it.

[00:02:19] If it's got a dollar bill next to it, it means there's probably environmental crime

[00:02:22] somewhere close to it as well.

[00:02:24] So it's a little known fact.

[00:02:26] But really, I mean, there are so many ways that CBP believe we can use our position

[00:02:32] of global convening and global influence not just as a regulator but also as a partner

[00:02:38] with private industry to really make a change in these very, very difficult sectors.

[00:02:43] This is fascinating to me.

[00:02:45] One thing that just pops out of it, why come to connect?

[00:02:49] Oh!

[00:02:50] What is the connection here, unintended, Liz?

[00:02:53] Of course, yes, go ahead.

[00:02:54] It's a very beautifully named program, I must say.

[00:02:57] So this is actually my second connect.

[00:02:59] I should say I was present at the 2020 connect, which is all virtual.

[00:03:06] We were in month three of the pandemic.

[00:03:08] That's right.

[00:03:09] It was a quick transition too.

[00:03:11] Very quick transition.

[00:03:12] And so that was my christening really in the connect world, but this is a very different

[00:03:16] enterprise being in person, seeing the incredible technology and standards that exist around

[00:03:22] supply chain traceability.

[00:03:24] And really from my perspective as a regulator, but also someone who really cares deeply

[00:03:29] about these challenges, how can we bring consumer visibility and data together with

[00:03:37] regulatory data that is collected both domestically and internationally?

[00:03:41] And how can we create this interoperability?

[00:03:43] So I wouldn't miss it, frankly.

[00:03:45] I think this is a great place to have those conversations.

[00:03:47] It's so great.

[00:03:48] And the passion that you obviously have for this is so evident and it's so fun just

[00:03:53] to listen to you and what your thoughts are on why you're here.

[00:03:57] And it's not just food right here.

[00:04:00] It's health care and apparel, general merchandise and health care and all of it coming

[00:04:04] together, which is really great.

[00:04:06] From a GS1 standards perspective, using the standards, can you just help us from

[00:04:12] your perspective, from a government perspective, what they can enable?

[00:04:15] One of the things that regulators look for is this persistent to use GS1's

[00:04:21] terminology, but it's good.

[00:04:22] This persistent, steady, unique identification for legal entities,

[00:04:29] businesses behind a transaction.

[00:04:31] We work with importers, broker community, but there is

[00:04:36] something called the importer of record that holds responsibility for filing

[00:04:41] compliant information that comes along with an imported good.

[00:04:46] And so for us, we need to be able to identify first that importer, but also

[00:04:51] once you've got that unique ID, you can hinge all kinds of really interesting

[00:04:55] data that is useful from an environmental standpoint.

[00:05:00] The sky's the limit, no pun intended, to layer that information about

[00:05:04] environmental impact.

[00:05:06] And not all of it is going to be information that we will use, I would say,

[00:05:11] a very small amount, frankly, is going to be information we would use for

[00:05:15] enforcement or even compliance at this stage.

[00:05:18] What we're trying to do is develop facilitation benefits so that we can

[00:05:23] move cargo further and faster, get that into U.S. commerce if we know

[00:05:28] that it meets environmental standards, if it meets the green standard.

[00:05:32] And again, you guys are the standards experts, but we are developing what we

[00:05:37] understand in the government to be the green standard for trade.

[00:05:40] That is still under development.

[00:05:41] I'm just wondering that.

[00:05:42] One quick question.

[00:05:44] How involved do you get with other governments and collaborating to make

[00:05:49] it global so that things can move in and out of ports and customs and everything?

[00:05:54] It's hugely important on every front to make sure there is that

[00:05:57] regulatory interoperability, but have we achieved it?

[00:06:01] Not entirely.

[00:06:02] And I would say in the environmental space, it's so dynamic and it's well meant.

[00:06:08] We're all trying to get at this challenge in different ways.

[00:06:11] We often use the word innovation to talk about technology.

[00:06:15] There's innovation in the regulatory and legal space when it comes to climate change.

[00:06:19] And I mentioned this earlier, the World Trade Organization,

[00:06:23] it's an arbiter of what is fair and right and just in the trade space.

[00:06:28] Big multilateral organization with almost 200 members.

[00:06:31] It had 5000 different trade related measures reported to it in the last 10 years

[00:06:38] that had a nexus to environmental climate.

[00:06:41] Wow.

[00:06:42] How do you make sense of that?

[00:06:44] This is right.

[00:06:45] So I think we all need to help one another to make sense of it.

[00:06:48] This is where sectoral boundaries really need to collapse because we're all

[00:06:52] trying to figure this out.

[00:06:53] This is fascinating and we can't thank you enough for stopping by and being on

[00:06:58] the podcast today and being at Connect.

[00:07:01] And it's folks like you that just help us all connect, share, grow and innovate.

[00:07:08] So thank you for stopping by today.

[00:07:09] You bet.

[00:07:10] Thank you.

[00:07:11] Thanks for having me.

[00:07:11] Yes.

[00:07:14] Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Next Level Supply

[00:07:18] Chain with GS1US.

[00:07:20] If you enjoyed today's show, please subscribe to our feed and explore

[00:07:23] more great episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

[00:07:26] Don't forget to share and follow us on social media.

[00:07:28] Thanks again, and we'll see you next time.