Aaura Inc., Chicago-based supplier of Italian gold jewelry, has been certified by the U.S. Customs Service in its new Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program.

C-TPAT is a joint initiative between government and business designed to protect global commerce from terrorism. The program calls upon importing businesses and service providers to establish policies to enhance their own security practices and those of business partners involved in the supply chain. The program began in April 2002.

To support its mission of improving supply chain security and protecting the global trade network from terrorism, U.S. Customs requires C-TPAT participants to establish and enhance policies to improve supply chain security practices in the areas of procedural security, physical security, personnel security, education and training, access controls, manifest procedures, and conveyance security. According to U.S. Customs officials, fewer than 150 companies have been certified under this program to date.

To receive certification, Aaura was required to submit detailed written documentation regarding its security and logistics operations, detail how shipments are tracked from point of origin to point of delivery, and explain what future processes would look like.

For information, call (800) 345-4445 or visit www.aaura.com.