Federal Government Efforts
At the federal level, the concept of redefining a private and public partnership to address the changing needs of society was first explored in a program developed following the attacks of September 11th, 2001. In the aftermath of this event, there became an increasing awareness that the world’s commerce was susceptible to exploitation by terrorists.  As a result, a new partnership was forged between the US Customs Service (renamed after 9/11 to US Customs & Border Protection) and the international trade community that it regulated.

The result is the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT). This program is now widely considered the most successful program of its type in the world with over 14,000 companies participating.

An effort is now underway to replicate the success of the C-TPAT at the local level. The Partnership for Emergency Readiness in Eden Prairie is one of the first of its kind in the United States.