MEXICO CITY: Mexico and United States customs officers will begin working together under one roof at three border crossings over the next several months as a means to streamline import and export procedures.
Finance Secretary Luis Videgaray outlined the changes at a conference on international trade and customs, explaining that the initiative came about through the work of the High Level Economic Dialogue established by Presidents Peña Nieto and Barack Obama.
“We worked in a coordinated manner with our principal trading partner to innovate, to do things differently from before that just a few years ago we would never have imagined,” said Videgaray.
He cited customs pre-clearance, which means one single procedure to authorize exports and imports.
The first border crossing to see the new system will be Laredo, Texas, which will be dedicated to the movement of electronics parts and components used by the automotive and aerospace industries.
Next up will be Tijuana, Baja California, for the export of Mexican agricultural products, followed by Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua for the export of electronics and computer products.
The finance secretary observed that the current administration is investing more than 9.3 billion pesos (US $590 million) in 33 projects designed to modernize Mexican customs. That figure is just half of what will be spent on the six-year Customs Infrastructure Modernization Plan.
Other border crossings will see changes as the plan is implemented. Among them are customs facilities in Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua; Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila; and Mexicali and Tecate, Baja California, which will be enlarged and reorganized.
