U.S. Customs Opens New Apparel, Footwear, and Textile Center

From SportsOneSource:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has opened its new Apparel, Footwear and Textiles Center of Excellence and Expertise, which seeks to help importers reduce their transaction costs.

Based in San Francisco, the center oversees a majority of import and revenue-related activities for the nation’s 67,000 importers of clothing, shoes, and associated raw materials. The center is the fourth to open as part of the change in the way CBP processes trade in the 21st Century.

“The expansion of the AFT Center – and the selection of Eric Batt as its director – is a significant step forward for this important industry and for CBP,” said CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “The Centers reflect the true spirit of collaboration between CBP and our trade stakeholders, reducing transactional costs, increasing consistency and predictability, and enhancing our ability to identify high-risk commercial importations.”

By leveraging new technology, CBP personnel in key locations throughout the United States, will be assigned virtually to the AFT Center, where they will:

• increase consistency of practices across more than 300 U.S. ports of entry;
• resolve trade compliance issues nationwide; and
• serve as a contact for trade actions.

CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise  strive to help better reconcile the agencies dual missions of protecting the health and safety of the American public and strengthening the U.S. economy.

The AFT Center joins the Electronics Center in Los Angeles; the Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals Center in New York; and the Petroleum, Natural Gas & Minerals Center in Houston as fully-operational units. Six additional Centers will be fully operational by mid-summer 2016.

For more information on the centers, please visit the Centers of Excellence and Expertise information page on the CBP website.