CBP opens 6 more import compliance centers

All 10 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Centers of Excellence are now fully staffed and operational to handle entry summary work for major industry sectors.    Six more Centers of Excellence & Expertise have moved beyond the test phase and assumed trade processing for all transactions associated with their designated industry niche, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday. All 10 industry centers are now fully staffed and operational to handle entry summary work for major industry sectors.
   The industry integration centers consolidate internal expertise, eliminate significant duplication of work for compliant importers and enable inspectors at ports of entry to focus on checking high-risk shipments.
   The objective is to achieve more regulatory consistency and reduce transaction costs for businesses by moving post-release compliance reviews and revenue collection away from ports of entry to virtual centers organized by industry. CBP personnel in locations throughout the country are assigned to the centers where they also resolve trade compliance issues and serve as a single point of contact for trade actions. 
    The latest Centers to achieve full operational status for post-release processing of entry summaries are: 
     • Agriculture & Prepared Products;
     • Automotive & Aerospace;
     • Base Metals;
     • Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising;
     • Industrial & Manufactured Materials;
     • And machinery.
   Last year CBP stood up the CEEs for Electronics; Petroleum, Natural Gas and Minerals; Pharmaceuticals, Health and Chemicals; and Apparel, Footwear and Textiles.
   Port directors at ports of entry technically still have final say on any compliance issues until CBP regulations are updated, but headquarters has clearly indicated that the CEEs are to be the primary decision-makers in post-release matters. 
Revenue collection, cargo release and security checks still occur at the ports.