Mexico and the U.S. are expanding a dual customs checkpoint program that both countries started testing here in Arizona.
The unified cargo processing program started at the Mariposa shipping port in Nogales, Ariz., two years ago. It’s a program that brings Mexican customs agents over to the U.S. side of the border to inspect shipments coming into the country, effectively reducing inspections from two countries to just one.
The program expanded along the Mexican border and this week was formalized in El Paso, Texas, where it’s been in operation since last spring.
"We’re seeing expedited entry and we’re seeing increased traffic in our fast lanes. We’re getting almost 400 trucks a day coming through," said Customs and Border Protections spokesman Roger Maier.
The program will spread to all of El Paso’s shipping ports over the coming months.
