Washington — U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced today an important milestone in our trade transformation efforts with the opening of the final three Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) - Agriculture & Prepared Products in Miami, Apparel, Footwear & Textiles in San Francisco, and Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising in Atlanta. These final CEEs, created through extensive collaboration between industry stakeholders and CBP, will bring the total number to ten.

“The Centers of Excellence and Expertise represent a significant step in transforming how CBP processes trade,” said Acting Commissioner Thomas S. Winkowski. “Industry focused and account-based CEEs allow CBP to segment risk within an industry, while enhancing our overall facilitation and enforcement efforts. With ten fully operational CEEs, we now cover a wide range of imported commodities.”

The CEEs virtually connect CBP personnel around the country by leveraging new technologies and develop comprehensive strategies to better facilitate trade and improve coordination with partner government agencies.

The other seven Centers are Automotive & Aerospace in Detroit; Base Metals in Chicago; Electronics in Los Angeles; Industrial & Manufacturing Materials in Buffalo; Machinery in Laredo; Petroleum, Natural Gas & Minerals in Houston; and Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals in New York.

The Centers of Excellence and Expertise are available to the entire trade community as a resource—importers are encouraged to apply under the test notice published in the Federal Register. (Federal Register)