[US] Customs chief: CEEs could take larger role

U.S. Customs and Border Protection could eventually expand the role of its 10 Centers of Excellence and Expertise beyond revenue-related functions to include making decisions on how and when to release imported goods into U.S. commerce, Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said earlier this month.

The relatively new centers are organized by industry to provide centralized processing of entry summaries and post-release activities associated with payment of customs duties...

Revenue collection, cargo release and security checks still occur at the ports, but Kerlikowske... said he could envision a broader role for the integrated industry centers once the transition to the CEEs is fully implemented...

The CEE concept is extremely popular among industry experts, who helped the agency co-create the program...

This has been excerpted from 21 May 2014 article by the American Shipper, and is available in its entirety at http://www.americanshipper.com/Main/News/Customs_chief_CEEs_could_take_larger_role_57337.aspx (subscription is required)