CBP explains personnel changes

CBP explains personnel changes    Replacing Daniel Baldwin as assistant commissioner for international trade and moving him to head supply chain security programs ‘will restore needed trade policy experience to the Office of Field Operations and add operational expertise to the Office of International Trade,’ U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday in a letter e-mailed to stakeholders in the trade community.
   As reported last week, Commissioner Alan Bersin transferred Al Gina from his post as assistant commissioner of international affairs to assistant commissioner of international trade and named Baldwin executive director of the cargo and conveyance security within OFO, effective March 15. Executive Director Todd Owen will become regional director of field operations for Los Angeles, responsible for customs enforcement activities at seaports and airports.

Owen

   Responding to industry concerns, Bersin has made it a priority since taking office a year ago to reduce the burden of trade compliance and make border controls more efficient while safeguarding legitimate regulatory and security objectives.

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   Expediting the flow of commerce benefits the nation’s economic and national security by helping businesses prosper and letting border security officials focus on unknown or high-risk shipments and travelers, he has argued.
   In order to restore balance to CBP’s twin missions of security and trade facilitation, ‘it is vital to place the right executives in the right positions to deliver on critical trade-related programs and initiatives,’ Maria Louisa O’Connell, senior advisor for trade and public engagement, said in the letter obtained by AmericanShipper.com.

Baldwin

   Baldwin, the letter noted, helped establish the Office of International Trade under former Commissioner Ralph Basham, led CBP’s crackdown on intellectual property rights violations and its response to import safety risks. Baldwin has also served as the Business Owner for the Automated Commercial Environment.
   Bersin asked Baldwin to take over Cargo and Conveyance Security Programs because of his ‘unparalleled experience and exceptional talent’ directing trade operations and policy, the letter stated.
   ‘Having been intimately involved in trade and cargo issues since I began my career in 1986 with CBP and the Customs Service, I have tried to find ways that make American trade interests fully integrated with our border enforcement responsibilities,’ Baldwin said in a farewell e-mail to colleagues and friends within and outside the agency.

Gina

   ‘I am looking forward to the new challenges ahead with Cargo and Conveyance Security and hope to continue our positive working relationships in the future,’ he added.
   Gina has previous experience as deputy assistant commissioner for the Office of Intelligence, led the effort to develop a joint operations directorate within CBP, directed industry partnership programs for the legacy Customs Service, headed the Container Security Initiative and Secure Freight Initiative, and served as an acting area port director. ‘ Eric Kulisch