U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner David V. Aguilar announced today at the East Coast Trade Symposium the expansion of the Centers of Excellence and Expertise (Centers), which will create six new Centers in 2013 for the Agriculture & Prepared Products; Apparel, Footwear & Textiles; Base Metals; Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising; Industrial & Manufacturing Materials; and Machinery industries.

The Centers that are to be established in FY 2013 are:

1. Agriculture & Prepared Products: Miami
2. Apparel, Footwear & Textiles: San Francisco
3. Base Metals: Chicago
4. Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising: Atlanta
5. Industrial & Manufacturing Materials: Buffalo
6. Machinery: Laredo
These virtual centers will provide one-stop processing to lower the Trade’s cost of business, provide greater consistency and predictability and enhance CBP enforcement efforts. The Centers represent CBP’s expanded focus on “Trade in the 21st Century,” transforming customs procedures to align with modern business. The Centers will also serve as resources to the broader trade community and to CBP’s U.S. government partners. The current Centers are Electronics in Long Beach; Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals in New York City; Automotive & Aerospace in Detroit; and Petroleum, Natural Gas & Minerals in Houston.

Read more about the Centers, and today's announcement at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/.