CBP officers at Anzalduas International Bridge between Texas and Mexico seized $4.4 million worth of alleged cocaine in two separate, unrelated incidents over the weekend, arresting two Mexican national men and one female. The first seizure was Nov. 24, when a car occupied by two Mexican citizens arrived at the Anzalduas-Reynosa International Bridge. After further inspection, officers discovered 26 packages of alleged cocaine with an estimated value of $2.2 million. The second was Nov. 25 when 28 packages of alleged cocaine, also valued at $2.2 million, was found in a vehicle.
CBP posted details on how to apply to participate in its reconciliation prototype. It said applicants should include the following information in their written application:
CBP said a final Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for Low Energy X-Ray Inspection Systems (LEXRIS) at CBP operational areas are available for public review. CBP said the systems won't significantly affect the quality of the human environment, so a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) is not required.
The U.S. and Taiwan signed a mutual recognition arrangement for the supply chain security program. They agreed Nov. 26 to mutual standards in Taiwan’s Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program and the U.S.’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program. It recognizes the compatibility between the Taiwan and U.S. cargo security programs and acknowledges that Directorate General of Customs, Taiwan Ministry of Finance and CBP will accept the security status of members of the other program, CBP said.
CBP said it's withholding a total of $7,373,556.45 from the Special Account as a result of pending litigation related to the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, and said it will also begin withholding funds from the Special Account associated with any cases involved in ongoing litigation until the amounts at issue in the pending litigation have been withheld.
CBP issued its weekly tariff rate quota and tariff preference level commodity report as of Nov. 26. This report includes TRQs on various products such as beef, sugar, dairy products, peanuts, cotton, cocoa products, and tobacco; and certain BFTA, DR-CAFTA, Israel FTA, JFTA, MFTA, OFTA, SFTA, UAFTA (AFTA) and UCFTA (Chile FTA) non-textile TRQs etc. Each report also includes the AGOA, ATPDEA, BFTA, DR-CAFTA, CBTPA, Haitian HOPE, MFTA, NAFTA, OFTA, SFTA, and UCFTA TPLs and TRQs for qualifying textile articles and/or other articles; the TRQs on worsted wool fabrics, etc.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has failed to adequately assess whether its automated targeting system (ATS) addresses security risks or whether some alternative system would be more effective, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report posted October 26. With 13.4 million cargo containers arriving in U.S. seaports in 2011, CBP’s ability to detect weapons of mass destruction, other weapons, smuggled people and illicit substances is critical, it said in a letter to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
CBP officers and Consumer Product Safety Commission investigators seized multiple shipments containing nearly 24,000 toys which exceeded the legal limits for lead in the area port of Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 14, CBP said Nov. 26. Various counterfeit toys were also discovered. The total domestic value for the shipments was estimated to be nearly $220,000, CBP said.
The Department of Homeland Security must work closely with trade to develop innovate and efficient processes while ensuring the security of the global supply chain, said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano Nov. 27, speaking at the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium. A better understanding and ability to identify risks in trade will facilitate the trade process, she said.
The U.S. and Japan have agreed to expand Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) agreement to apply to exports from the U.S. being imported in to Japan, said CBP Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar, speaking at the CBP East Coast Trade Symposium Nov. 27. The U.S. signed in 2009 a mutual recognition arrangement (MRA) that recognizes compatibility between the U.S. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Japan's Partners AEO cargo security programs. That agreement didn't apply to U.S. exports to Japan.