CBP Creates New Position to Protect U.S. Agriculture

Published 7 January 2008

In the face of an avalanche of unsafe food stuffs being imported from China, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) creates a new position — Deputy Executive Director for Agriculture Operational Oversight — and appoints Kevin Harriger to the post

Faced with two waves — first, a a wave of reports and stories about unsafe food imports from China, and a parallel wave of criticism about how, in the face of the rapid growth of importing unsafe products, the Bush administration was cutting budget, manpower, and facilities for import supervision and inspection at U.S. ports, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has established the new position of Deputy Executive Director, Agriculture Operational Oversight. Kevin Harriger, who has twenty-six years experience in different positions having to do with protecting American agriculture with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and with CBP, has been appointed to the position.

Harriger is charged with ensuring a more consistent application of agriculture inspection policy across all U.S. ports of entry. He will be the primary point of contact for Joint Agency Task Force coordination issues for DHS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and other stakeholders. His other responsibilities include:

* Reach out to Federal and State officials on agriculture border inspection issues

* Oversee the joint CBP/APHIS Agriculture Quality Assurance program

* Monitor agricultural performance measures for risk and efficiency

* Ensure compliance with all agricultural program directives and policies

* Ensure agriculture specialists have the equipment and resources they need to perform the agriculture inspection function

Before assuming his duties as deputy executive director, Harriger was the director of policy and planning for CBP’s agriculture programs. He also served as a special assistant to the executive director of Agriculture Programs and Trade Liaison Office, implementing and coordinating agriculture related projects and training. Harriger transferred from APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) to CBP at the creation of DHS. He started his career with APHIS as a PPQ officer in 1981. Before his position in CBP, he was the PPQ assistant regional director in Raleigh, North Carolina.