'Stay Tuned' for Movement on North American Single Window, Says CBP's Smith
BALTIMORE -- Recent close collaboration with Mexico and Canada and the use of an international data standard for the U.S. Single Window has created a foundation for an eventual North American Single Window, said Brenda Smith, CBP assistant commissioner-international trade, while speaking to reporters at the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium on Nov. 4. "Now, our challenge is how to leverage the cooperation that's been done and actually make it an operational reality," she said. There's been discussion of an eventual North American Single Window between the countries for several years (see 14061803).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
A North American Single Window provides an opportunity to build on "the leadership that Mexico has shown in implementing their Single window" as well as the harmonization discussions with Canada within Beyond the Border project, she said. The World Customs Organization data model provides an "international standard that we are building towards," she said. There remains a number of issues to figure out, she said. "There are a lot of challenges as we go forward with Single Windows generally, as we move from just a one country, really one language, into an environment where you have a lot more stakeholders as well as complexities around IT, different cultures, different customs approaches," said Smith. "Stay tuned," she said.