The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently named Karen Lobdell, a director of Trade Security and Supply Chain Services at Drinker Biddle & Reath, as a new member of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of Customs and Border Protection (COAC).
COAC is a 20-member advisory council that advises the secretaries of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security on trade compliance and facilitation, the securing of the supply chain, and other trade and security issues of mutual concern to the CBP and the trade. Members represent the interests of importers (and their agents) and those associated with the carriage of international cargo. Committee members, who serve a two-year term and are eligible for a second term, are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Lobdell, a licensed customs broker, has more than 25 years experience in the domestic and international logistics industry, with a focus on international business development, operations management, and trade compliance. Over the past seven years she has been directly involved with homeland security processes as they apply to both internal and external supply chain security concerns focusing directly on government regulations, policies and initiatives that affect customers operating in the global markets.
After completing an application to COAC, Lobdell said there was no communication and no interview. Her appointment was based on her application. Among the information the group looks for, it pays attention to her political affiliation because COAC must have no more than 10 members from one political party, she said.
Originally from the logistics industry, she heard about COAC from a mentor who had been a member. She applied a couple times, but she said third time seems to be the charm.
“I’m certainly very excited about the opportunity,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to work with a small, but very diverse and very experienced group of trained professionals that are going to have direct communication with U.S. customs and border protection, as well as Congress. Having the ability to have a line of communication at that level is a great opportunity. It also puts me in a position to take the input of our clients who deal with these regulations on a daily basis and be a voice for them.”
By holding this position, she said she hope to be a voice for small and mid-size business enterprises. Traditionally COAC is made up of representatives from multinational corporations and service industries.
“But there’s really been no representation for the little guy and I have a lot of background from my previous job with small and mid-size [corporations],” she said. “I hope to bring that experience and a voice to that table that hasn’t really been present before.”
She said the group meets on a quarterly basis, and the locations vary. But it mostly meets in Washington D.C. A host of subcommittees get generated to deal with important issues.
During its 11th two-year term, COAC is expected to consider issues such as enhanced border and cargo supply chain security, CBP modernization and automation, informed compliance and compliance assessment, account-based processing, commercial enforcement and uniformity, international efforts to harmonize customs practices and procedures, strategic planning, northern and southern border issues, agricultural inspection and the CBP mission, and import safety.
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