Jesse Norman Signs United States and United Kingdom Conclude Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement.

[Hereford Voice]

Agreement enhances trade facilitation and security cooperation

LONDON - The United States and the United Kingdom concluded a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) today to further enhance bilateral efforts to secure and facilitate lawful trade. U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood Johnson and The Rt. Hon. Jesse Norman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, signed the agreement in London.

U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood Johnson and The Rt. Hon. Jesse Norman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, signed the agreement in London.

“The United Kingdom has been an indispensable trade partner of the United States for more than two centuries,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Mark A. Morgan. “This new agreement will further enhance the U.S.-UK partnership by improving information sharing, strengthening the enforcement of our customs laws, and bolstering supply chain security while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade.”

“The Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement will expand our efforts to secure and protect our nation’s borders through the timely and crucial sharing of investigative information,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tony Pham. “We value our strong partnership with the United Kingdom and the collaborative effort to prevent, detect, and investigate customs offenses and crimes associated with goods crossing international borders.”

“Every single day, the U.S. and the UK work side by side to stop criminals trafficking illegal goods across the Atlantic - from guns, to drugs, to illegal wildlife products and even counterfeit medicine," said U.S. Ambassador to the UK Robert Wood Johnson. "This Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement means that after Brexit, our investigators can keep sharing information to stop criminals in their tracks and keep people in both our countries safe.”

“This is an important agreement that ensures continuity post EU exit, and demonstrates the strength of the US-UK customs relationship,” said The Rt. Hon. Jesse Norman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury. “This deal will allow us to continue to cooperate in combatting customs offences by sharing information and good practice, and provides the legal underpinning for schemes to ease trade flows for importers and exporters.”

CMAAs are bilateral agreements between countries that are enforced by their respective customs administrations. The agreements provide the legal framework for the exchange of information and evidence to assist countries in the enforcement of customs laws, including duty evasion, trafficking, proliferation, money laundering and terrorism-related activities.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are the implementing agencies for the United States.

For more information about CMAAs, please visit CBP.gov.