U.S. Customs Border Protection doubled the number of its centralized compliance facilities on May 11, announcing two more centers of excellence and expertise aimed at the petroleum and automotive/aerospace industries.
Acting CBP head David Aguilar said the agency will Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE), will create a Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) for Automotive and Aerospace in Detroit and another for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals in Houston.
CBP began the program last October, establishing CEEs for the information technology and consumer electronics industry in Los Angeles and pharmaceuticals, health and chemicals in New York.
The CEEs, it said, help increase uniformity of practices across ports of entry, facilitate the timely resolution of trade compliance issues nationwide, and further strengthen critical agency knowledge on key industry practices.
The two new virtual centers will provide one-stop processing to lower the oil, automotive and aerospace trades’ cost of business, provide greater consistency and predictability, and enhance enforcement efforts, said the agency. The CEE’s, it said, represent the agency’s expanded focus on “Trade in the 21st Century,” to align customs procedures with modern business. Industry-specific CEEs, enable the agency to provide tailored support to unique trading environments.
The CEEs will bring all of CBP’s trade expertise to bear on a single industry in a strategic location, according to the agency. They will be staffed with numerous trade positions using account management principles that are able to authoritatively facilitate trade issues, it said, adding that the CEEs will also serve as resources to the broader trade community and to CBP’s U.S. government partners.
According to CBP, CEE personnel will answer questions, provide information and develop trade facilitation strategies to address uniformity and compliance concerns. They will also serve as a single point of processing for businesses enrolled in CBP’s trusted shipper programs: the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Importer Self-Assessment (ISA).
“I am proud to announce the expansion of this initiative. These centers bring all of CBP’s trade expertise to bear on a single industry in one strategic location,” said CBP acting commissioner Aguilar. “They provide tailored support to increase uniformity across ports of entry, facilitate the timely resolution of trade compliance issues nationwide, and strengthen critical agency knowledge of key industry practices.”
Source: Government Security News
