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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that on December 7, 2015, the United States signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with the Dominican Republic that allows for a stronger collaboration between the two countries in securing the global supply chain and recognizes the compatibility between CBP’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program and the Dominican Republic’s Authorized Economic Operator Program. CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske signed the arrangement on behalf of the United States and Dominican Customs Director General Fernando Fernandez signed on behalf of the Dominican Republic. The United States has now signed 11 MRAs with other customs administrations across the world. The Dominican Republic arrangement is the first to be signed with a Caribbean nation and second in Latin America. MRAs are bilateral arrangements that indicate that the security requirements or standards of the foreign industry partnership program, as well as its validation or audit procedures, are the same or similar with those of the C-TPAT program. |
