U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today all 10 of its Centers of Excellence and Expertise (Centers) are operating at full capacity. The full operation of all 10 Centers is the culmination of considerable work within CBP and with trade stakeholders to streamline operations and modernize the way CBP does business.

“The Centers transform the way CBP interacts with trade stakeholders while meeting the needs of economic growth and facilitating supply chain security,” said CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “As one of the agency’s major modernizing efforts to streamline trade operations, the Centers increase uniformity at our ports and enhance CBP’s industry expertise to better enforce the nation’s trade laws.”

The announcement aligns with the agency’s effort to strengthen America’s economic competitiveness by facilitating lawful trade as described in the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, signed by President Barack Obama on February 24.

The Centers provide centralized points of contact for specific industries.

CBP’s 10 Centers of Excellence and Expertise are:

• Apparel, Footwear & Textiles – San Francisco
• Electronics – Los Angeles
• Machinery – Laredo
• Natural Gas & Minerals – Houston
• Base Metals – Chicago
• Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising – Atlanta
• Industrial & Manufacturing Materials – Buffalo
• Automotive & Aerospace – Detroit
• Agriculture & Prepared Products – Miami
• Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals – New York

Visit CBP.gov for more information about CBP.