Trade Ambassadors must clear vetting process

Trade Ambassadors must clear vetting process    U.S. Customs and Border Protection's selection of 16 Trade Ambassadors is conditional on the industry representatives passing background checks, an agency official and current Trade Ambassador said.
   American Shipper on Monday reported the names of those selected to the liaison positions, but Cindy Allen, executive director of the ACE Business Office, said those on the list must first undergo a background check that will take about two months.
   The Trade Ambassadors would offer advice on the Automated Commercial Environment project, but won’t have access to official, sensitive documents until their background checks are completed, she said.
   The new group is in addition to about 15 to 20 existing Trade Ambassadors, said Celeste Catano, one of the incumbent Trade Ambassadors and principal business analyst for trade software make Kewill.
   Catano said the new Trade Ambassadors were brought on to replace some people who left and add people who could provide broader range of industry backgrounds, such as in air cargo or ocean transportation, or have technical expertise. ' Eric Kulisch