Title 6Domestic SecurityRelease 119-73not60

§941 Strategic Plan to Enhance the Security of the International Supply Chain

Title 6 › Chapter 3— SECURITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERY PORT › Subchapter II— SECURITY OF THE INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN › Part A— General Provisions › § 941

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must work with federal, state, local, and tribal governments and private companies that handle cargo to make, carry out, and update every three years a plan to make container movement in the international supply chain safer. The plan must say who is responsible for what, fix gaps or overlaps, recommend needed law or rule changes, set measurable goals and a schedule to secure cargo from origin to destination, weigh costs and benefits, offer incentives for voluntary security steps, consider effects on small and medium businesses, create ways to share intelligence with the private sector, set a response framework for transportation security incidents, and include protocols to quickly resume trade. It must also connect supply chain security with other security programs and align with existing national maritime and response plans. The Secretary must consult groups like the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee, the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, and the Homeland Security Advisory Committee when making the incident-response parts and sharing or coordinating plans. The first report had to be sent to Congress within 270 days after October 13, 2006. Updates must be sent within 270 days after October 5, 2018, and every three years after that. The Secretary is also encouraged to consider international standards from bodies such as the IMO, WCO, ILO, and ISO.

Full Legal Text

Title 6, §941

Domestic Security — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary, in consultation with appropriate Federal, State, local, and tribal government agencies and private sector stakeholders responsible for security matters that affect or relate to the movement of containers through the international supply chain, shall develop, implement, and update, triennially, a strategic plan to enhance the security of the international supply chain.
(b)The strategic plan required under subsection (a) shall—
(1)describe the roles, responsibilities, and authorities of Federal, State, local, and tribal government agencies and private-sector stakeholders that relate to the security of the movement of containers through the international supply chain;
(2)identify and address gaps and unnecessary overlaps in the roles, responsibilities, or authorities described in paragraph (1);
(3)identify and make recommendations regarding legislative, regulatory, and organizational changes necessary to improve coordination among the entities or to enhance the security of the international supply chain;
(4)provide measurable goals, including objectives, mechanisms, and a schedule, for furthering the security of commercial operations from point of origin to point of destination;
(5)build on available resources and consider costs and benefits;
(6)provide incentives for additional voluntary measures to enhance cargo security, as recommended by the Commissioner;
(7)consider the impact of supply chain security requirements on small- and medium-sized companies;
(8)include a process for sharing intelligence and information with private-sector stakeholders to assist in their security efforts;
(9)identify a framework for prudent and measured response in the event of a transportation security incident involving the international supply chain;
(10)provide protocols for the expeditious resumption of the flow of trade in accordance with section 942 of this title;
(11)consider the linkages between supply chain security and security programs within other systems of movement, including travel security and terrorism finance programs; and
(12)expand upon and relate to existing strategies and plans, including the National Response Plan, the National Maritime Transportation Security Plan, the National Strategy for Maritime Security, and the 8 supporting plans of the Strategy, as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 13.
(c)In developing protocols under subsection (b)(10), the Secretary shall consult with Federal, State, local, and private sector stakeholders, including the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee and the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee.
(d)To the extent practicable, the strategic plan developed under subsection (a) shall provide for coordination with, and lines of communication among, appropriate Federal, State, local, and private-sector stakeholders on law enforcement actions, intermodal rerouting plans, and other strategic infrastructure issues resulting from a transportation security incident or transportation disruption.
(e)As part of the consultations described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, utilize the Homeland Security Advisory Committee, the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee, and the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee to review, as necessary, the draft strategic plan and any subsequent updates to the strategic plan.
(f)In furtherance of the strategic plan required under subsection (a), the Secretary is encouraged to consider proposed or established standards and practices of foreign governments and international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization, the World Customs Organization, the International Labor Organization, and the International Organization for Standardization, as appropriate, to establish standards and best practices for the security of containers moving through the international supply chain.
(g)(1)Not later than 270 days after October 13, 2006, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the strategic plan required by subsection (a).
(2)Not later than 270 days after October 5, 2018, and triennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains any updates to the strategic plan under subsection (a) since the prior report.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1804(1), substituted “triennially” for “as appropriate”. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1804(2)(A), substituted “Reports” for “Report” in heading. Subsec. (g)(2). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1804(2)(B), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Not later than 3 years after the date on which the strategic plan is submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that contains an update of the strategic plan.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

6 U.S.C. § 941

Title 6Domestic Security

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60