WASHINGTON — Fresh off his Senate confirmation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske today acknowledged industry concerns that he wouldn’t balance trade facilitation and security but said he understands the importance of doing so.
Customs Regulations
In the years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, perhaps no government agency has evolved as much as U.S. Customs and Border Protection. From port initiatives such as the Container Security Initiative to partnering with industry in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, CBP is now front-and-center on virtually every international company's radar screen. Failure to comply with CBT's myriad and seemingly ever-evolving regulations can cost a company millions of dollars in fines. Overseas, customs agencies can be even more of a bureaucratic minefield and corruption is rampant in many emerging markets. In an increasingly global marketplace, how companies cope with myriad customs regulations can spell the difference between success and failure in an international strategy.
News & Analysis
06 Mar 2014
WASHINGTON — U.S. and Mexican shippers and transportation providers in their countries’ trusted traded programs could see faster cargo processing at the shared border as soon as late 2014, Mexico head of customs today.
20 Feb 2014
WASHINGTON — President Obama today issued an executive order aimed at making it easier and faster for U.S. shippers to import and export by streamlining cargo processes and requiring a transition to electronic paperwork by 2017.
13 Jan 2014
This will be the year U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows what the agency can do when it has politically appointed leadership, something it hasn’t had for two years. If confirmed by the Senate, R. Gil Kerlikowske will lead the agency as it brings a long-delayed cargo processing system into the homestretch, beefs up its top trusted-trade program and determines how to best assist exporters. At the same time, CBP continues to better target goods for inspections so it doesn’t hold up trade unnecessarily.
08 Jan 2014
China is reportedly allowing more U.S. dried distiller grains into the country after rejecting roughly 661 short tons of corn-based DDGS and 2,205 short tones of regular corn, both containing an unapproved genetically-modified strain.
07 Jan 2014
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is taking its Canadian pre-inspection pilot to the next phase, allowing trucks crossing the Peace Bridge to Buffalo, N.Y., to enjoy faster clearance by getting initial paperwork completed in Fort Erie, Ontario.
03 Jan 2014
A key Customs and Border Protection official instrumental in expanding the agency’s trusted trader programs and forging mutual recognition agreements has retired.
17 Dec 2013
Crowley Maritime expects to see 20 percent growth in its Puerto Rican transshipment volume, coming from the recent reclassification of its...
16 Dec 2013
Shippers of containerized cargo to Japan, be forewarned: the Japanese version of the U.S. 24-hour advanced manifest rule will soon be going into effect. This means that after March 8, 2014, shipments that don’t contain the needed information in shipping instructions will be rejected for loading by customs authorities.
10 Dec 2013
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is looking to expand a program that speeds up the clearance of the majority of U.S.-bound containers by prescreening shipments at foreign ports.
Commentary
Immigration Reform’s Threat to US Trade