CBP's Winkowski, Mexican Officials Talk of Single Filing Window for Both Goverments

The U.S. should apply the CBP U.S-Canadian "Beyond the Border" approach to the Southern Border to facilitate trade and travel with Mexico, said CBP Deputy Commissioner Thomas Winkowski during a meeting on U.S.-Mexico competitiveness hosted in Laredo by the Council of the Americas. Winkowski also spoke of transforming the way CBP does business and pushing the borders outward, according to CBP press release.

Mexican officials echo Winkowski's call for improved customs processes between the countries. Alfredo Gutierrez Ortiz Mena, Commissioner of Internal Revenue and Customs for the Government of Mexico, spoke of an eventual single entry concept, using the same data set at a single window to transact the entry with both governments in a one-stop shopping, single review and the truck would be opened only once, he said. Work is already progressing to accomplish this in the rail environment, said CBP.

Winkowski also emphasized redefining the borders, trade transformation and looking at better ways to finance infrastructure. “To be competitive we need to reduce transaction costs," he said. "To do that we need to do a better job at risk segregation.” Winkowski said the finite amount of budget resources and noted that the agency needs to look at better ways of building infrastructure, including sharing the costs with the private sector.