New CBP Commissioner Aguilar Commits to Staying the Course

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Import Export Canada Jan 10, 2012

In a conference call yesterday [January 9] with association representatives, David Aguilar, the new Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, reassured stakeholders from both sides of the border that as a former “border cop”, he has no intention of rolling back the work undertaken by his predecessor, Alan Bersin, over the past couple of years.   Mr. Aguilar, who had been the Deputy Commissioner, was sworn in as Acting Commissioner by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano on December 30, 2011, following the resignation of Mr. Bersin.  Mr. Aguilar was joined on the call by senior members of his team, including Tom Winkowski, the former Assistant Commissioner of Operations, who is the new Acting Deputy Commissioner.

Rather than dismantling Mr. Bersin’s accomplishments, Mr. Aguilar stressed his intention to build on the foundation that has been built.  Specifically, he committed to:

• Continue CBP’s aggressive outreach to the trade community;
• Work with the trade community to co-create programs to ensure the appropriate balance between physical security and the expeditious movement of trade; and
• Continue to re-engineer and transform trade processes to ensure efficiencies.

Mr. Aguilar made specific mention of the value of innovative approaches, such as Centers of Excellence and Expertise; the need to continue modernization efforts, including building on the simplified entry pilot; the importance of single window and the need to ensure consistency across Other Government Agencies; and the need to build on trusted trader partnerships.  He also stressed the need for the trade community and CBP to better understand each other’s needs and to work together to identify problems, find opportunities, and to solve problems.  He concluded his opening remarks by stating that, while there is no doubt that CBP is a regulatory agency, it also has a responsibility to drive down costs, recognizing that the trade community is the engine of economic competitiveness.

As for the perimeter security initiative with Canada, Mr. Aguilar noted that CBP owns 16 of the 32 action items on the Beyond the Border Action Plan.  He advised that he and CBSA President Luc Portelance and their respective teams will be meeting in New Orleans later this month to discuss how they will move forward and decide which action items must be worked on immediately.  Emphasizing the significance of the agreement, he commented that the Action Plan represents a commitment to the leaders of both countries.

As for Mr. Bersin, he will not be disappearing from the scene.  During the ceremony, which also honoured the achievements of Mr. Bersin, Ms Napolitano announced that President Obama had appointed him to the newly created position of assistant secretary of international affairs and chief diplomatic officer. In this new role, Mr. Bersin “will oversee the strategic development and execution of DHS’s international plans and policies and will be responsible for forging new partnerships with foreign governments and international organizations.”

Both Mr. Aguilar and Mr. Bersin have spoken at I.E.Canada’s annual conference in recent years.  The association and its members wish to extend appreciation to both men for the important work that they have done and congratulate them and wish them well in their new positions.

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