Agricultural Cargo Pre-Inspection Program with Mexico Begins
The pre-inspection pilot for agricultural goods entering the U.S. from Mexico began Jan. 12, with CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske there to kick off the program, said CBP (here). Mexican Secretary of Finance and Public Credit Luis Videgaray joined Kerlikowske in Mesa de Otay, Tijuana, Mexico for the inaugural event. CBP officers and agriculture specialists will "pre-inspect certain U.S-bound agricultural shipments alongside Mexican Customs officers at the Mesa de Otay facility," said the agency. "The shipments that will be pre-inspected are low-risk, high volume agricultural commodities that are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agriculture Release Program," it said.
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.
The Otay Mesa program is the second of three locations planned to test cargo pre-inspection (see 1510160020). The third program, at San Jeronimo, Chihuahua, Mexico, will focus on the pre-inspection of finished electronics shipped into the U.S. and is planned to start mid-2016, said CBP. "Cargo Pre-Inspection is designed to improve the flow of trade by significantly reducing congestion and wait times, with shipments being inspected only once by both customs authorities together in the exporting country," said Kerlikowske.