What is required regarding business partners in the CTPAT program?

• A. Importers may choose partners informally without formal criteria.
• B. Importers are not responsible for partner security standards.
• C. Importers must have written processes for selecting business partners and ensure they meet CTPAT security standards.
• D. Importers must only partner with domestic companies.

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that CTPAT requires importers to actively manage and verify the security of everyone in their supply chain, not rely on informal ties or assume partners handle it themselves. To meet this, importers must have written, documented processes for selecting business partners and for ensuring those partners meet CTPAT security standards. This means clear criteria, due diligence, and ongoing verification to confirm partner compliance, so the importer remains responsible for the overall security of the supply chain. Partnerships can be domestic or international, so restricting to domestic partners isn’t accurate.