CBP to Open C-TPAT Field Office in Laredo
CBP plans to expand its presence in Laredo, Texas, by opening a Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) office, according to Peter Touhy, director of the Miami C-TPAT field office within CBP’s Office of Field Operations.
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Touhy made the announcement during an Aug. 2 call on which CBP also discussed a list of proposals further defining just how President Joe Biden expects the agency to implement Biden’s Detect and Defeat legislation (see 2407310030) aimed at thwarting fentanyl and other illicit drugs from entering the U.S. via the millions of de minimis shipments or imports that are worth less than $800 (see 2408020057).
The Laredo office could be fully functional in 2025, with CBP potentially starting to set up the office with temporary but seasoned employees sometime later this summer, Touhy said. The office would function similarly to the C-TPAT field office at the U.S.-Canada border in Buffalo, and it would give CBP an opportunity to modernize and “do those things to get us up to speed with what we currently face out in the field,” Touhy said.
“This is kind of a no-brainer for CTPAT. It’s a great location for us to be. We want to make sure that we have the knowledge and expertise on the ground,” Touhy said on the call. He added that the Port of Laredo is the busiest inland port on the U.S.-Mexico border, with almost 70% of the trade entities operating there being C-TPAT certified.
“It’s all about mitigating risk and moving the traffic through and getting that trade facilitation through. Not just in the land environment. We also have the rail component to think about down there. So, for these reasons, it made a lot of sense for us to start doing this and get this going. So, looking forward to seeing it come through to fruition,” Touhy continued.
The office’s geographic reach will focus on the southern border and include Brownsville, McAllen and Laredo. The office will serve the broker and importer communities in those areas, as well as foreign manufacturers and over-the-road carriers.
CBP expects to phase in the staff for the office, so that experienced CBP staff are there to train newer, permanent employees, Touhy said. The agency is working on ensuring budgeting for the new office so that preliminary operations can start this fall, he said.
“I think it goes without saying, but obviously, everybody wants to see the faster movement of goods in the Southwest border region. We want to see the swifter movement of low-risk goods, [while] anything high risk, we want to be looking at that a little more closely,” Touhy said. “I want to make sure CBP has the ability to allocate its resources towards high risk and secure that expedited processing for any low-risk cargo such as C-TPAT, and to make sure that we’re doing what we can in terms of providing full benefits for the fast lane to get things moving across the border.”