NAFTA Seen as Means Toward Improved Cargo Security in Mexico, McAleenan Says

June 13, 2018 by Tim Warren|Trade Agreements and Policy

The updated NAFTA could result in raised standards for cargo security, CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said June 13 at a Wilson Center event about the U.S.-Mexico border. Asked whether NAFTA could be an instrument for promoting the use of security components in Mexico, McAleenan said "yes," and that it's "consistent with securing supply chains from start to finish." This is similar to the approach CBP is taking to e-commerce marketplaces, he said. "So much of that small package trade is going into warehouses where it's all looked at individually by a major company," he said. "Why can't we work with them on a new trusted program? I'm open to that, would welcome that conversation."

CBP is hoping the NAFTA talks result in a "shared view" among the member countries "for how we can do trade enforcement together," he said. The work between the customs regimes should enhance NAFTA as a whole, he said. "Clarity on the rules of origin and how we'll interpret it, I think will just streamline those efforts," he said. CBP's role in the implementation piece is "critical" and that agency has "more involvement than ever in a trade negotiation on the NAFTA modernization in terms of how the policies will be implemented and we'll be impacted at the border."

CBP will also be piloting new non-intrusive inspection technologies this year, McAleenan said. One truck scanning pilot will go on near Nogales, Arizona, he said. "We're working with the State Department, with the government of Mexico, to get to a point where we can get to that 18 percent or so of trucks and scan 100 percent of them crossing that border and facilitate that travel. They won't need to stop for a second X-ray inspection on the U.S. side even if we have a concern," he said. The agency will also be using new "traffic flow procedures" to enhance the technology, so "a trusted truck, a trusted driver, never really has to stop." Other pilots are planned for Donna and Brownsville, Texas, McAleenan said.