CBP Releases Full Texts of Mutual Recognition Arrangements

CBP released the full texts of the 11 existing Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) signed by the U.S. and foreign customs administrators. The texts, which weren't previously made available by CBP, were provided to International Trade Today in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. "After consultation and evaluation of the documents, CBP FOIA has determined that they may be released to you in full, with no redactions," CBP's FOIA Division Branch Chief Patrick Howard said in a letter. "A copy of the MRAs will also be placed in our Reading Room for future public use." The U.S. currently has MRAs with New Zealand, Canada, Jordan, Japan, Korea, the EU, Taiwan, Israel, Mexico, Singapore and the Dominican Republic. The MRAs allow CBP to consider participation in other customs regimes' trusted trader programs as similar to participating in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program and vice versa.