An industry advisory group is again calling on U.S. Customs and Border Protection to consider changes to its Centers of Excellence and Expertise to reflect today’s trade environment.
At a recent meeting, CBP’s Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee noted that in the ten years since the establishment of the Centers CBP’s workload priorities and staffing needs “have undergone transformative change.” COAC explained that the models used to establish the Centers were created prior to the institution of new tariff programs such as the 201 safeguard duties, the Section 232 steel and aluminum duties, the China Section 301 tariffs, and the “reciprocal” tariffs. They also predate the establishment of the Enforce and Protect Act, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the increase in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, and the unprecedented expansion of low-value shipments. These changes, in addition to shifting enforcement priorities, have had an extraordinary impact on the Centers’ operations, COAC said.
Ahead of an anticipated restructuring, COAC expressed hope that in its “future endeavors” CBP will build on the committee’s past work and recommendations, including the following.
- CBP should explore and develop methods for creating Center-based communities that allow for more robust and frequent communications between Center staff, Center members, brokers, and other trade entities. Increased familiarity between parties will help facilitate trade, enhance compliance, and create processing efficiencies.
- CBP should explore and develop methods for enhancing connectivity between the many parties involved in Center operations, including internal and external stakeholders, such as partner government agencies.
- CBP should embrace opportunities to rebalance the workloads, geographical locations, and staffing of the different Centers for the purposes of adapting to and addressing current priorities and risks.
- CBP should institute regular evaluations of Center workloads and staffing to ensure resources are properly balanced to meet these priorities and risks.
- CBP should evaluate whether there are a sufficient number of Centers and/or whether the commodity lines encompassed by specific Centers are appropriately aligned.
- CBP should assess the organizational and funding structures of the Centers to ensure they are properly positioned to maintain the level of customer engagement needed to ensure that the Centers can fulfill their mission.
Copyright © 2025 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.