Forwarder groups support McAleenan nomination to head CBP

The Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association says Kevin McAleenan, President Trump’s nominee for commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, has earned its support over 10 years of engagement with the trade community.    The Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association (PCC) is urging Congress to promptly confirm Kevin McAleenan as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
   Currently the acting head of the agency, McAleenan was nominated by President Trump to be the permanent CBP commissioner last month. It is the first time  anyone in active service at the former Customs Service or CBP (created in 2003) has been nominated for the commissioner position during the modern era.
   “Mr. McAleenan has earned our support after over 10 years of engagement with the trade community nationwide and on the West Coast. He has been willing, even eager, to meet with West Coast customs brokers and freight forwarders. He has traveled to each of the seaport, airport and the land border crossings through which we facilitate trade. He knows first-hand the impact of CBP in trade facilitation and enforcement, and the need for adequate and well-trained CBP staffing,” PCC said in a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamela Harris of California, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray of Washington.
   “If Kevin McAleenan is confirmed, we are confident that the needs of the California, Oregon, and Washington airports, seaports, truckers, warehouse operators, terminal operators, longshore labor, importers, exporters, and hundreds of small and medium businesses represented by the Pacific Coast Council, will be well served,” said the letter.
   The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) has also said it is “highly supportive” of McAleenan’s nomination.
   In April, NCBFAA President Geoff Powell wrote to Sens. Orrin Hatch, chairman the Senate Finance Committee and Ron Wyden, ranking member of the committee saying McAleenan had been at the center of challenges facing the agency and NCBFAA, “and exercised the strategic vision and operational know-how to lead the agency to a successful resolution.”
   The Airforwarders Association (AfA) has also asked the Senate to swiftly confirm McAleenan as commissioner.
   Brandon Fried, the AfA’s executive director, cited McAleenan’s “vast experience at CBP in leadership positions,” and said working with him that he had “been impressed with his professionalism and willingness to engage stakeholders and the trade community.”