On September 24, 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a press release announcing a new Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Minerals, which opened in Houston, Texas on September 17.
The release explains that "CBP’s Centers offer one-stop processing to lower the Trade’s cost of business, provide greater consistency and predictability and enhance CBP enforcement efforts. The Centers are coordinated from strategic locations, but are manned by CBP personnel across the country."
The functions of CEEs listed on the press release are to:
- Answer questions
- Provide information
- Develop trade facilitation strategies
- Serve as a single point of processing for businesses enrolled in CBP's trusted shipper programs, such as the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and the Importer Self-Assessment (ISA)
The Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Minerals CEE is the fourth center in force. Previously opened CEEs are the Pharmaceutical Center in New York, the Electronic Center in Los Angeles and the Auto/Aerospace Center in Detroit. CBP plans to open five more CEEs next year to cover the full range of commodities.
The full text of the press release is available online here.
