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US and Mexico start joint one-stop customs inspection to ease cargo flow
THE United States and Mexico have launched a pilot cargo pre-inspection programme to facilitate trade flow between the two nations, reports The Associated Press.
Under the programme, cargo will be inspected only once in the exporting country by customs officials from both nations, easing congestion by reducing wait times up to 80 per cent and lower storage costs and other expenses.
US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said at a news conference in Mexico City that the programme "represents a remarkable evolution" of the bilateral relationship.
"The pre-inspection pilot programme which this memorandum will enshrine opens the door for a 21st century approach to trade facilitation between our two countries," Mr Johnson said.
Mexican Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray said the programme began at the airport in Laredo, Texas, with the first inspections carried out by officials from both sides of the border, including armed Mexican agents.
In the coming days and weeks the programme will be expanded to two facilities in Mexico: Mesa de Otay in Baja California, near San Diego, and San Jeronimo, which is in Chihuahua state near the border cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez.
"In essence it means that instead of having two bureaucratic hurdles, now, thanks to joint cooperation and trust, we are going to have just one inspection," Mr Videgaray said.
"What are we aiming for?" he added. "To generalise this way of working, based on efficiency and trust to achieve security and competitiveness."
Mr Johnson said more than US$1.45 billion in trade moves between Mexico and the US each day, totalling over $530 billion a year.
In the last two decades, he said, Mexican imports of US goods have risen from $41.6 billion to $240 billion. Over the same period, US imports of Mexican goods went from $40 billion to $295 billion.
Under the programme, cargo will be inspected only once in the exporting country by customs officials from both nations, easing congestion by reducing wait times up to 80 per cent and lower storage costs and other expenses.
US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said at a news conference in Mexico City that the programme "represents a remarkable evolution" of the bilateral relationship.
"The pre-inspection pilot programme which this memorandum will enshrine opens the door for a 21st century approach to trade facilitation between our two countries," Mr Johnson said.
Mexican Treasury Secretary Luis Videgaray said the programme began at the airport in Laredo, Texas, with the first inspections carried out by officials from both sides of the border, including armed Mexican agents.
In the coming days and weeks the programme will be expanded to two facilities in Mexico: Mesa de Otay in Baja California, near San Diego, and San Jeronimo, which is in Chihuahua state near the border cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez.
"In essence it means that instead of having two bureaucratic hurdles, now, thanks to joint cooperation and trust, we are going to have just one inspection," Mr Videgaray said.
"What are we aiming for?" he added. "To generalise this way of working, based on efficiency and trust to achieve security and competitiveness."
Mr Johnson said more than US$1.45 billion in trade moves between Mexico and the US each day, totalling over $530 billion a year.
In the last two decades, he said, Mexican imports of US goods have risen from $41.6 billion to $240 billion. Over the same period, US imports of Mexican goods went from $40 billion to $295 billion.
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